Falling for Help
by AleyKitty
Summary: Humans have decided to tag every demon in Human World through drugging them with an energy-eating drug and putting them under a sutra when they're too strong. Hiei and Kurama find a bit of love through a very unexpected location when Hiei is caught by the police to be processed and it reacts badly. ArmordaRay Me Co-fic. Hiei/Riva[oc] Kurama/Kiba[oc, yaoi] m for language, no lemons
1. Processing

The humans held up their thick shields and circled around the small man. Once the shields began to spark against one another, he grabbed his ears, grimacing away from them, but the five police continued to tap their shields until he was on the ground with his hands tightly closing off his ears. "Stop it!" He shouted at them as loud as he could.

One of the police officers quickly jumped forward from behind him and sunk an injection into his back. Hiei screamed in pain and twisted to kill the human who caused it, but another blast of the offensive noise made him stumble back to the ground.

Hiei felt the chill start in his back and that's when his teeth started chattering together uncontrollably. It felt like ice was being injected into his veins and freezing all it touched, which meant him. He screamed in pain when it started spreading to his shoulders and chest and tried to warm himself up, but all he felt the more he raised his energy was the jagan opening and his body transforming into its jaganshi state. That didn't help stop the ice, it kept spreading.

He had to stop his screaming to try and breathe, but with how cold his chest was becoming, he knew that was going to become harder.

The humans circled around him, each grabbed his arms and hoisted him up. Before he felt like ripping someone or something into pieces with an ice storm, he was trussed up in sutras containing his energy, handcuffed, and tossed into the back of the squad car to be carted off who knows where. Hiei could barely see as he struggled to move his arms, back or legs. The more the ice crawled through his body, the less he could move it.

Hiei felt like he was going to die, and at the hands of humans at that. In all his years coming to see Kurama, he'd never once been treated this way, and it confused him and also deeply worried him. Was Yukina alright? Kurama? The detective? Were they dead from this? All the battles he'd been through and he was going to be frozen to death by some shot in his back by some aggressive humans.

"He's just a boy," one of the humans commented. He could see them looking down on him, but the ice had gotten to his eyes and he couldn't move them, he couldn't blink.

"Maybe, we don't know that. You remember what the ambassadors said? Demons look all ages and look the same once they reach adulthood."

Hiei wanted to scream at them for help, or to scream that he knew demon ambassadors, and that he wasn't just some low life. He saved them! He saved humans all the time! He even went so far as to fix them mentally, so they wouldn't have to suffer through it and they had the audacity to do this to him!

"And you're sure he didn't just have it somewhere else? You're sure he didn't have a chip?"

"Yeah, I'm sure."

Hiei felt his shoulders start to shake as he shivered. He needed a fire.

"He looks like he's having a seizure." The passenger remarked blandly like it was no big deal.

"I am not turning on the siren for some illegal demon. They've got all that energy to keep them alive and that one is good and strong."

Hiei wanted to scream in frustration, but he couldn't even stop the shaking from reaching his legs or arms. He felt the usually hot spot in his core start to cool, and he knew he wouldn't be able to warm himself up.

"This might as well be animal cruelty." The passenger commented.

"He's not an animal, he's a demon. Animals can't fend for themselves and they don't know our laws. He knew damn well what he was doing walking through Human World without a tag."

No one had informed him the laws had changed! If they had, he would've gone through the process, so he could continue to save their sorry asses and see Kurama! At least the one was somewhat compassionate.

"Hey, do you want anything from the coffee shop?" the driver asked.

"No, we need to get him to the healers. We can stop later. If we show up with a dead one in our cab again we're going to get written up." The one who had been watching him faced forward and sat back down in his chair.

Again? _Again?_ He wanted to rip the driver's head off.

"Fine. If you say so, but it's just because I have a record to uphold."

If he ran across the driver in Demon World, he was not saving him. Or he would at least let him live with the trauma of the event for the rest of his life.

They pulled into a parking lot and parked. The passenger got right out and grabbed Hiei's arm, yanking on it. To Hiei's shock, his body caved and bent for the man like it wasn't frozen stiff. He pulled Hiei from the back, wrapping an arm under each of Hiei's to drag him into the police station. He dumped him into a wheelchair and processed him, taking fingerprints, a mug shot, and assigning him a number then wheeled him into a cell where he pushed him onto a bed and hit a red button on the wall by the bed. A little light flashed above the bed and continued to flash as the cop left the cell, locking it down.

It was a couple of minutes before a man with long black hair wearing a white coat came over to his cell and unlocked it. He could feel his energy sweeping over him as he came over. When Hiei didn't respond, the man came over and touched his cheek before frowning deeply.

He turned to the cell door and then back at Hiei before he left, but he didn't lock down the cell like the cop had. He hurried away calling for someone.

When he came back he was followed by a little girl with cat-like red eyes and long black hair pulled up in a messy bun. She was dressed in messy clothes, but she hurried over to Hiei and as soon as her hand hit his chest, he felt relief. It was warm. His legs and arms still shivered, but he was slowing down, and he wasn't in danger of knocking himself off the bed from the convulsions.

"Thank you, Riva. He must be some kind of mix of demons, and the injection brought this out."

"You're welcome Kiba." The girl sat next to Hiei on the bed and continued to slowly expand the warmth through his body.

"I'll be back with some blankets to help." Kiba left again.

"Thank you." Riva nodded, and focused on Hiei again. She reached up and gently closed his eyes. He wanted to sigh in relief and managed a small one with his chest warm.

"It's going to be alright. We got to you in time," Riva soothed. "I have to warm you back up slowly or you'll get frostbite, but I am doing it. Just be patient."

He wanted the Fox. He didn't know these people, but he didn't fight her. He couldn't fight her, he was still paralyzed.

He heard Kiba come back and dump a few blankets beside them, "Let me know when he's capable of speaking, we can get this sorted out."

Hiei felt blanket after blanket piled onto him and then the lower one was blissfully heated.

Kiba didn't leave immediately despite his comment, Hiei could hear him shifting on his feet, "We have to somehow educate the cops on things to look for, this could have killed him. They showed up with that one demon," He sighed, "It's disappointing."

Hiei really wanted to find that cop and tear him to shreds, but for now, he just had to warm up and contact Kurama so he could warn him, and also so he could come and get him and help him recover.

Hiei could finally wiggle his fingers and toes again when he tested his voice. He coughed, and Riva jumped nearly off the bed from the sudden noise. "Oh good, you're recovering." She checked her watch. "It looks like you'll be moving again in half an hour at this rate."

"I need to make a call." He coughed again.

Riva frowned, "Make that twenty-five minutes." She shook her head, "You're not able to make a call right now. You still have to be processed by the police."

"I'm a border patrol agent for Lord Mukuro."

"Yes, well," She shrugged, "The police here don't recognize that as an excuse to be wandering around untagged."

"I'm Hiei Jaganshi."

"I'm not a member of the police Hiei. I can't do anything to make the process go faster."

"Get one of them in here."

Riva nodded and stood. Once her hand was removed from Hiei's chest, he began to shiver again, and Riva went back to his side, warming him once more. "Or not? Kiba will be back shortly to check on your progress"

"Fine."

"I know this is hard for you Hiei, but Demons have very little control here."

"I wasn't made aware of the change in laws or I would've gone through the process without this hassle."

She sighed, "Unfortunately, it's not that easy. This is the process."

"Well fuck this, they need a way for demons to do it without being attacked, like people from other human countries do."

She nodded, "I agree, but the humans are in control of the laws here and they don't see a problem because it doesn't affect them."

"It will when some demon decides to go on a murder spree out of revenge."

"Yes, I suppose they will have to see to a new method then."

Hiei felt himself shift back into his normal body and he sighed in relief, "I'm not a real jaganshi, that wasn't my true form."

"I can't say I'm too surprised with how cold you are," Riva agreed.

When about twenty minutes passed, Hiei tested out using his arms and legs, and when he deemed them acceptable to use, sat up, but kept a hand on Riva's arm. He'd just settled his feet on the ground when Kiba came in.

"You're looking better!" Kiba offered, "How are you feeling?"

"Not normal, but better."

"Alright, you're probably alright to go through the rest of the process then. I can go tell a police officer you've recovered enough."

"Fine."

With that, Kiba left them.

A police officer came in about half an hour after that, and by that point Hiei was ready to kill something but still dependent on Riva to keep warm.

"Name," The police officer demanded holding a clipboard in front of himself.

"Lord Hiei Jaganshi." If he could get them to start calling him Lord Hiei he wouldn't mind that, maybe they'd realize who they were dealing with.

"Hiei, right," the man wrote down. "You know, in the hundreds of demons I've processed, you're the first one who actually had a last name. It's about damn time you idiots realized names come in first and last."

"Eh, I wasn't born with it. People just started calling me 'Hiei Jaganshi' so I went with it."

"I didn't ask you a question, demon, keep your trap shut until I ask you something." The man looked up from his clipboard, glaring at him.

"I didn't tell you my name was Demon, Human." Hiei snapped, "I'm not some little D class you can order around. I protect humans, it's my job."

The human put the clipboard against his side and sneered at Hiei, "I don't think you realize what position you're in yet. It doesn't matter what type of demon you are, you're a two-bit nothing to me, and you're warded. You can't do shit."

"Well then why don't you go step in Demon World and tell that to the first demon you see? I won't be there to save you."

"Oh, I'd love to go to Demon World and wipe that snarky ass attitude off a few thousand of you, but it's forbidden."

"Yeah and die. Have fun being gutted or killed from a long distance. Did you know the plants eat things too?"

"Officer Aaishi, please, this doesn't have to be difficult." Riva implored. "Hiei Jaganshi here is one of the officials of Demon World."

"I'm Lord Mukuro's right hand man, and I know the ambassadors, and we were not informed of this change in law."

"Don't talk to me like that you gutter shit!" The officer yelled at Riva, holding his clipboard ready to strike her.

Riva jerked backwards, "Sir, there's no need for violence!"

"And there's no need for a street-rat like you, who shouldn't even be _in_ here, to be interrupting my interrogation!"

"Shut up and ask the next question! I need her to live because you stupid human idiots don't realize that your stupid injections are dangerous to demons! Now! The next question!" Hiei demanded.

"I don't give a damn what you think you need, demon, and I'll start my questions again when I'm damn good and ready!"

Hiei rolled his eyes and waited, bored.

After a moment of challenging glares, the man shook himself off and continued, reading from his clipboard, "What is your primary purpose in Human World?"

He frowned, "To relocate humans to their homes."

"No, that's not one of the answers."

"Well, then, what is?"

"Recreation or work?"

"Work then, both."

"You can't have both, you have to have one or the other."

"Well put down work, god." Hiei sighed.

"Hiei, work means if they find you in the private residential areas they'll bring you back here."

"Oh my fucking god, recreation!" He was ready to kill something.

"Recreation it is," he lifted his eyebrow at Riva, then went back to his questions. "Age."

Hiei frowned and looked at him, "I don't know accurately."

"Guess."

"Ninety."

The man looked him over, "Nineteen."

"No, I'm ninety you idiot, nine zero, demons don't age like humans do."

The cop glared at him, worked his lips, then put down something on the clipboard.

"That had better be ninety."

"Gender."

"Male."

"Occupation."

"Border Patrol Agent for Lord Mukuro."

"Home Address."

"None, Mukuro's Bug."

"Well which is it? Mukuro's… bug? or none?"

"Mukuro's Bug."

"And where is it you were going?"

"I was going to a friend's house."

"A human dwelling?"

"Yes."

"For what purpose?"

"To visit them."

"How many years have you been in Human World?"

"Do you mean in a row or visiting?"

"Visiting. How long have you been coming here?"

"Uh," Hiei had to think about it, "About, 14 years?"

"How did you gain entrance to Human World?"

"I walked in." Hiei shrugged.

"So, you are a low-level demon."

"I'm strong." Hiei amended, "The barriers are down."

"I know that, but they weren't fourteen years ago."

"I wasn't as strong back then, I've grown stronger."

"If you were to power up to your full potential standing on a corner of a block, how many blocks across would you level?"

Hiei shrugged, "With just my energy?"

The officer nodded.

"He's trying to mark you as a threat to Human World."

"Ah, well. I'd do damage, but it wouldn't be a city. Maybe a couple of blocks."

"Like five or six?"

"I said a couple, like two." It was probably more like five or six.

"Well, you see," The cop pulled off a small device from his hip and held it up pointing it at Hiei, "This says your power level is pretty far up there. Most of the demons we get through here are in the hundreds, and you're," he nodded appraisingly.

"Yeah, it is. I know I'm probably considered a threat, but I have no interest in destroying Human World."

"But if two thousand is your resting energy while under a binding sutra," the man looked pointedly at him.

"It's up there when I'm charged, yes."

"Uh huh." The man recorded down the data.

"You could be getting interference from me, officer." Riva admitted. "My resting level is about that too, and I'm not under a sutra. It would pick up on my energy before it picked up on Hiei's."

"That's true." Hiei nodded.

"I'll make a note of that," the officer admitted, then skimmed his paperwork. "Right. What's your breed?"

"Fire demon."

The man chuckled, "Try again hotshot."

"Fire demon, jagan implant, ice apparition." He admitted quietly.

The man nodded and recorded that information down. "Now, if you fired a charge of your energy off, how far would it travel, what size would the impact location be, and how well could you aim it after you fired it?"

"I'm not a shooting demon." Hiei shrugged, "I don't know, that's not how I fight."

The officer nodded, "Unwilling to comply," he muttered.

"I said I don't know. It's not like I've gone out and tried that, that's not how my powers work."

The man looked up at him like he was bored, then looked back down at his paper, "Have you ever had a sexual encounter with a human?"

"No."

"Do you plan on having any sexual encounters with a human or humans?"

"No."

"Have you been sick within the past year?"

"After you fucktards did this to me." Hiei huffed.

"And what is your weakness?"

"My weakness?" Hiei frowned, "Why would I share that?"

"You either share it or you stay in here until you do," the cop threatened.

"Human forced injections." Hiei nearly sneered.

"Good. Now then, you are being charged with illegal immigration to Human World. You can plead guilty now and be free to go after paying a fine of one thousand dollars, or you may fight the case and stay in here for months until we can process your case."

"I don't have a thousand dollars on me. Will you let me leave and get it?"

The man laughed, "No of course not, but you can make a phone call to someone who has access to your funds."

"Good, then I need a phone call now."

The man nodded. "A phone will be brought to you." He turned and left shutting the door and locking it behind him.

"Don't step in Demon World." Hiei offered as he watched him leave.

"Yes, well they're trying to make that a threat for Human World too."

"Hn, if I ever see him in Demon World I'll save him but he's not getting a complimentary mind wipe."

Riva chuckled. "I'm sorry about all of this Hiei. They really don't have to be so mean about any of this, but they feel threatened."

"They could at least inform us and give us a place to do it legally."

"Well the original intention was for that to happen, but Demon World doesn't pay attention to Human World, and humans don't give a damn about demons."

"The ambassadors should've contacted us."

"They did."

"Well apparently not well."

"There's no official contact system. Not after Koto and Juri began broadcasting here and lost most of their demon viewers."

"Ugh." Hiei laid back down and sighed.

"It's something we have to work on," Riva nodded. "Now then, how are you feeling?"

"I still don't feel normal."

"You do have your energy restrained. Chances are you feel abnormal because you don't have enough energy to regulate your own temperature due to the sutra."

"I don't want to freeze to death."

"Even if you are released from here, you might have to wear a sutra in Human World because of your strength."

"Then I can't come here, I'll die, if it's this same kind of injection."

"That's, sort of the point, sadly."

"Fuck humans, I should've taken over their world when I had the chance." Hiei huffed.

Riva stayed silent, watching him.

Hiei closed his eyes and tried to nap.

An hour later, one of the cops came by with a cellphone. "You wanted a phone call, here you go."

Hiei took it and started punching in a very familiar number. He held it up to his ear and waited. He needed to answer.

"Minamino residence."

"Fox, I need your help."

"Oh, hello Hiei, how are you?"

"Not good, I was almost killed earlier. I'm here at the police station, they charged me with illegal immigration."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Do you want a lawyer or the money?"

"The money."

"If you confess to it, there will be ramifications. You'll be a convicted felon in Human World Hiei, and humans don't take kindly to convicted felons."

"Aren't I already? What else am I supposed to do?"

"Well you could fight it but it's a no-win situation."

"But I'm going to die if I don't get out of here. Sell what you need to Fox, I need to get out of here."

"Alright. I'll be down in a few minutes to pay your fine."

"Be careful."

"I understand Hiei. I live here after all."

"Hn. Bye Fox."

"Goodbye Hiei."


	2. Two Birds in the Bush

Thanks so much Jessica for the review! This story is complete and I'm just going to be uploading one chapter a day because I can. The whole thing is done though, so no worries about it dropping off the face of the earth. You will have a conclusion in this thing if you wait around about... 16 more days! There are 18 chapters total.

\- Thanks from AleyKitty and ArmordaRay!

* * *

Kurama stood in the front entryway of the police station waiting for someone to show some sort of interest in him and help him get situated. He kept trying to flag someone down, but none of them were paying him much mind. When the person at the counter near the front finally came back, she didn't look happy. "What are you here for?"

"I'm here to pay a fine for Hiei Jaganshi." Kurama replied stepping up to the counter.

"Proof of identity," she held out her hand.

"Oh, um," he pulled out his wallet and paused before handing over his card. "What identity do you have to confirm it with? What are you looking for?"

"Well, demon-lover," she scolded, "if you're here to pay a fine for a demon, then you'd better be registered or a human."

Kurama frowned. "That is uncalled for. I'm not here to be insulted when your police station is practically robbing the demons of their freedom here in Human World. There is no reason every demon who walks among us must be tagged. It's just your new revenue, and I'm here to contribute."

"I still need proof of what you are before we can proceed," she replied.

Kurama pulled out his driver's license and held it up covering his name with his fingers. "Human. I've lived here all my life; now can we move on?"

She nodded. "You said Hiei Jaganshi?" She tapped away at her computer.

"Yes, he was processed today."

"Mm, well it looks like the paperwork hasn't been catalogued yet. You give me the two thousand and I'll get it plugged in once the paperwork is done."

"I don't have cash."

She lifted an eyebrow. "Charge then, fine." She impatiently waved her hand at him.

"Very well, but I'll need you to sign something and my receipt since this is unorthodox." He pulled out a sheet of paper from his suitcase and began to write on it on the desk in front of her. Once he finished writing, he drew two lines at the bottom and signed and dated one of them before holding it over to her.

She rolled her eyes, but signed it, took his card, charged it, gave it back, and gave him a receipt. "Hiei will be on probation for the next week which means if he is caught without the sutra, or without his tracking device, he will be jailed for three years each day of infraction. That means if he removes the chip once he leaves here and we catch him without it when he reports to his parole officer seven days from now, he could serve up to twenty one years in prison and that will compound upon whatever other infractions he has done, so if he is without the sutra and the chip, that would be forty two years." She pulled out some sheets and signed the bottom of one then passed it to him. "This is a legally binding document saying you understand and agree to take responsibility for Hiei Jaganshi."

The front door opened behind Kurama as he signed the document, and he heard the click of nails on tile. Suddenly, Kurama was on the ground with a searing pain in his arm and a dog barking in his ear. He shoved the dog aside, only for it to bite his arm again and force him back down, blood dripping down his ripped shirt.

"Titan, off!" The cop shouted, and the dog let go, backing up several steps, blood dripping from his teeth.

Kurama jerked himself upright and glared at the man as he leaned against the counter for support, shocked that he'd been attacked. "Your dog is mad!"

"No sir, you're a demon."

"I am not, and I have the registration to prove it!" Kurama yelled back.

"He's a demon?" The woman behind the counter asked.

Kurama felt dizzy and weak. He breathed heavily as he had to blink to keep his eyes open.

"Yes, we came out here when you indicated that he wasn't because Titan knew otherwise, and my scans indicated he doesn't have a tracking chip."

"Well maybe your scans are faulty!"

Kurama felt a sharp pain in his shoulder and screamed in surprise pulling away from the counter. Pain crawled down his arm like white-hot fire, and he couldn't keep his balance as the world swayed and drooped around him. He fell to the floor hard and knocked his head against the cold tile. The painful throbbing of his head intensified so far that he thought he would faint, but somehow, he kept his senses enough to know he was still aware as his eyes were ground into a powder, and his bones were twisted and wrenched. He felt someone grab his arm and the sensation of jagged pumice scratching his legs making them bleed hot iron from his heavy body.

The jaws of some monster clanged like a gunshot in a cave, and he was left alone with his pain.

The heat that washed over his body felt like it would melt him long before he died from the pain. He panted hard and with each breath in came thousands of needles catching and digging at his lungs. He coughed and choked, his body rattling apart with each convulsion, and then his whole stomach was forced out of his throat again, and again, until the only energy he had left was enough to wheeze in breath.

When Kurama began to come around, a gentle hand touched his shoulder, "Hey, you're going to be alright." A soft voice offered, "Let me get you cleaned up." He felt a cloth dab at his lips and chin before it moved to his hands and wiped them off.

Everything tingled like it was asleep, and each click or bump, each creak of the springs, every knock of feet on floor ached deep in his skull like thousands of explosions.

When his hands were clean the rim of a cup was placed against his lips, "Drink."

He couldn't move to tell the man 'no' and he couldn't move to drink, so he just lay there awake in his exhausted state as his body tried to hibernate, but his anxiety wouldn't let him.

"Alright," The cup moved away. He felt the man's energy pool around him and a wave of calm splashed over him, "You're safe here, just relax and recover."

That didn't help him calm down though. As soon as he felt his emotions change suddenly, he began to fight it, struggling mentally with the energy trying to control him, desperately trying to get rid of it, to force it away, which just made him panic as he began to succumb.

"Hey, calm down, I'm trying to help you. Your body needs to rest."

He continued trying to fight it on pure instinct, and he felt himself break into a heavy sweat again.

"You're safe here, you just need to calm down and you'll be fine."

Why was this guy insisting he was safe here? What was going to kill him? Where was he? What was here? He couldn't help his curious panic forcing its way forward as his paranoia took hold. He felt lost and alone, and with all these strange people, he was not happy.

"You're at a Human World Police Station. I'm a doctor and I'm trying to help you. They injected you with something that brings out your true form and also restrained your energy with a sutra."

No, no, this was all wrong. This was wrong. He shouldn't be here. He couldn't be here. He would be found out. Shiori would find out who he was. Kurama tried to talk, to get some semblance of a plea to this man that he had to leave, but nothing came out.

The man rubbed his shoulder, "Just relax."

Relax? Yeah right! Kurama felt his breath pick up again as his shoulder scalded from the touch, and he remembered the burning pain of his shoulder just a short time ago.

The man stopped, and he heard him sigh, "You're safe."

That didn't stop Kurama's instincts from telling him he wasn't. The most that did was give him more reason to believe something was dreadfully wrong. He could practically feel the lie in this man's voice, despite not knowing him. Still, Kurama understood the purpose of telling him that. He needed rest so his body could physically recover from the trauma of being forced to change, because he did believe him when he told him that.

He was probably in a human police station, and he was probably in his demon form in that human police station, and as terrifying as that was, that meant the humans had forced him through the change and he was, for better or worse, without any repercussion or energy. He needed to rest. Kurama struggled to turn his mind off enough to sleep, or fall blissfully into a lack of awareness, but it wasn't working. The more he pondered this man's odd words, the more he felt himself panic. He needed something else, he needed to turn his brain off somehow, but even meditation was failing him with the aches still crawling over his body.

The worst part was that he felt like he would vomit again soon. His stomach kept feeling worse by the second and he could feel himself get the dry-cold of needing to puke. His skin got tacky and his face blanched as he realized it was going on, and that was it, he was vomiting again. He had no control over the autonomic reflexes, so he jerked forward on his side and heard it splash, which just made him vomit again. Once his stomach was empty he dry-heaved off and on for what felt like hours but was probably only ten or twelve minutes. When he finally stopped it was because a scent overpowered the smell of puke in the room. He couldn't identify it immediately, but eventually he realized it was mint.

"You'll feel better in thirty minutes or so." It was the same soft voice. He could hear water sloshing around, "I'm cleaning up the floor, but if you need to get it messy again feel free to."

Kurama struggled to open his eyes, but they wouldn't budge still. As the half-hour dragged on, Kurama began to feel worse, not better. Each minute that passed, his body began to hurt more, and his energy fluxed and waned with his breath.

"Hey, could you move your hand for me?"

Kurama considered that. His hand. His hand hurt like he had it in boiling water. He wanted to move it, but it wasn't moving. He tried to grab his whip, tried to scare himself into some impulsive movement, but he didn't move.

He felt the man touch his shoulder. His energy seeped into him, "How about now?"

Kurama tried to move his hand again, but instead, the old searing pain crawled through him with Kiba's energy, and he felt the world dull around him, and the darkness became blacker, his body screamed with pain, and he felt sick to his stomach again.

"Well this is, different."

Kurama didn't have any energy left, he panted hard as his body tried to compensate for each aching muscle with air, but he couldn't get enough breath, he felt suffocated. He couldn't even open his mouth to pant. He felt panic grip him, and the world hazed out. He couldn't hear anything but his ragged breathing.

The soft-spoken man poked open his mouth with his finger and stepped back again.

Kurama's lungs went into overdrive hyperventilating as he finally began to get more oxygen, and his body quickly became covered with a sheen of sweat. He tried to move his vocal chords, to speak, to beg, to pray, anything, but he couldn't even twitch his tongue.

The man touched his arm and he felt calm wash over him. But the calmer he felt, the more he began to panic too. And when the panic was pulled away, he felt his anger rage forth, and his frustration as he realized the doctor was the one doing this to him. It had to be him.

"Calm down, I'm trying to help you. You're having a bad reaction to the injection."

Gradually, Kurama's breathing quieted, but the less he panicked about that, the more his energy dipped until finally Kurama could hardly feel he was in his body at all. He felt so disconnected from it that he imagined Botan's soft voice, the gentle crying as she tried not to lose another friend.

The doctor started feeding him energy slowly.

Kurama felt his breathing pick back up again, and his brain fuzzed from the sudden rush of oxygen again. He struggled to move, to do anything, but still his body wasn't working. He didn't have enough energy to move.

He felt the doctor shift him a little and rip off something from his arm.

His energy pooled in him again and began to recover itself until he felt the pain crawling back through his bones again. Everything began to smell more poignant, and each sound was louder than moments before. He could even see shadows among the darkness of his eyes. Kurama shut his mouth.

"Good, we just needed that nasty sutra off. You should now start to feel better, give it twenty or thirty minutes."

Kurama tried to talk, but his throat hurt, so instead, he just satisfied himself with flexing his fingers, and twitching his tail trying to recover his motor abilities. He opened his eyes, searching for the empath who kept fucking with his emotions.

Eventually he found the dark-haired man who stood looking down at him, "Good, you're getting better."

Kurama shut his eyes again. He could feel the ache of hibernation crawling around his mind. He needed to recover his energy before he did anything else, and with his ability to move restoring slowly, he knew he wouldn't get another opportunity quite as tempting as now.

Kurama woke up feeling dizzy, but his energy had recovered some. He sat up and looked around the cell he'd been thrown in to find that it was an individual cell with sutras on all the bars. They looked hastily put up, and Kurama quickly noticed several ways to break out regardless of the sutras. He didn't, however, knowing that would just get him in more trouble.

"So, you're awake."

Kurama looked towards the voice slowly, not wanting to shake himself up any more than he already felt. "Doctor," Kurama greeted.

"The name is Kiba."

"Well, I do believe you saved my life."

"Yes," Kiba nodded, "I hadn't realized it at first, but came to realize it was the sutra and not the injection itself."

"It was probably a combination of both actually."

"Yes, but more so the sutra."

"Seems to be. With my energy, I can change forms but without it, I can't support my forms."

"Yes, well, the police don't have different types of sutras for different demons despite my pestering. I just have to save people when they decide to finally show up with them."

"Was Hiei released?"

"Yes, but he's still, dependent."

"On what?" Kurama examined the tall dark stranger closer, trying to decide if he was a threat or not.

"Mm, a girl. Riva. She's a good caretaker, he's in good hands." Kiba offered, "She saved his life." Kiba leaned against the cell.

"This program is dangerous." Kurama remarked. He looked down at the floor searching for signs of vomit, but he didn't see any. Kiba had done a good job cleaning.

"I've informed the police that I needed to remove the sutra for medical reasons, but I'm sure they'll try to force another one on you before you leave. Your energy is well above their accepted limits already and it's still climbing."

"Mm, well they won't think I'm such a threat because of what I am once they realize who I am."

"They consider Hiei a threat and his job is to save humans." Kiba shrugged.

"Yes, well, I _am_ human. I was born. I have a family. I age. I have _human_ energy too. I went to school even."

"I don't make the decisions, I just keep people alive. That's the only reason why I don't have a sutra. They only take my medical advice."

"But they have persecuted one of their own as a demon, and I have rights."

"Because you are a demon."

Kurama smiled, "That's the tricky thing. I was a demon, but I died. I was born a human."

"Again, I don't make these decisions. You'll have to talk to a police officer about it."

Kurama nodded, "Oh, I will, and I'm sure the lawyers will have a field day with my case if they decide to continue pressing charges."

"Well, soon a police officer will be in to process you. They're going to assume you're a demon. I trust you're smart enough to know what things to say to certain questions." Kiba sighed heavily.

"I am under no obligation to answer their questions. I have rights to a lawyer before they interrogate me."

"Alright. Now that you're awake I'll go inform them you're ready for, processing or whatever." Kiba left.

Kurama waited on the edge of the bed with his feet against the ground, and softly pulled himself back to his human body.

Eventually a cop came up to his cell with a clipboard in hand, "Name."

"I'd like to speak with my lawyer."

"Name."

Kurama stayed silent.

"You don't get a lawyer, name."

"I was born human. If you test my DNA, I am human."

"All our readings indicate you are a demon. Name."

"Test again."

"Name or I'm going to put down the first thing that comes to mind, demon-scum."

"I need to speak with my lawyer. You have no right to refuse me. I am not guilty of anything yet."

"You don't get a lawyer, name."

"I do get a lawyer, I am as much a human as you are."

"You are a demon," The man seethed.

"That's the thing, I'm not. I might have demonic energy, but that doesn't make me a demon. I am a human."

He scoffed, "Yeah right, name."

"What makes you a human?"

"Not having demonic energy."

"Well, what type of energy do you have?"

"Fuck if I know, now give me your name."

"You have spirit energy, like all humans. So do I. I was reborn, just as you were. I came out of a womb, just as you did. I have human DNA, just as you do. I was born a citizen of our country, just as you were. I am not any different than you aside from one added benefit, I have both spirit and demonic energy."

"Do I have to get that stupid demon over here to make you cooperate with me?"

"There is nothing another demon can do to force me to give up my rights to a lawyer."

"I'm sure he has a way, he's a creep and they shouldn't let him off a sutra."

"I'll be sure to let him know you hold him in such high regard."

"What's he going to do about it? He's a demon, he can't do shit."

"Until you keep this bullshit up. Treat me like a human, or I will file misconduct charges against you and this station."

"Name."

"Shuichi Minamino. Step-Son of _Kazuya Hatanaka_ of the Hatanaka Corporation. Son of Shiori Minamino."

The man stiffened in his spot.

"Lawyer?"

"I suppose so, Mr. Minamino, uh." The cop left.

"If you'd like to, please call them! I'd love to tell my step-father what you've done!" Kurama called after the man.


	3. The End is Nigh

It took an hour or so, but eventually Kurama saw the familiar face of his mother come up to the cell, along with a less familiar man he knew was his lawyer.

Kurama stood up and smiled, "Mother, thank you for coming," He came over to the door to greet them as best he could.

"Shuichi, are you alright?"

"No, I'm not, but that's okay. Once we're somewhere confidential, I need to tell you what's going on."

"Alright, I'm sure they have somewhere like that. We just need someone to let you out."

The cop escorting them opened the cell and led the three of them to a small conference room with a table at the side against the wall and four chairs in the room, two in the corners, two at the desk. The lawyer brought a chair from the corner over to the desk to sit with Shiori and Kurama.

"Alright, now that we're not being monitored, let me explain." Kurama offered. "I was a demon in my previous life, but technically I am a human just as anyone else is a human. I just retained things from my previous life."

"But how did that happen?"

"Well, to put it simply, I skipped a step," Kurama shrugged. "I wasn't ready to die yet, so I ran away from the soul collectors and I had plans to regain my old body, but I never did."

"So, you are a demon?"

"That depends on your perspective of what makes someone a human or a demon," Kurama replied. "Technically, I am a human, but I have memories and abilities of a demon. I have demon energy for that reason."

"So, what does this mean?" Shiori looked at his lawyer.

The lawyer shook his head, "There is no president for this, so we have a good case here to try the state for discrimination."

"Okay." Shiori nodded.

"It all hinges on how we define life." Kurama replied. "If you are what you remember, I am a demon, but if you are what you were born, I am human. I'm not possessing this body. If my soul leaves it, there is no soul in it, therefore it is not a possession."

"This is a lot to take in, Honey." Shiori patted his hand.

"I'm sorry Mother, I'm talking about this more as it is pertinent to the case, but in reality, to you, I-" he frowned. "I'm sorry. I lied to you all these years. You are not my only mother. You are my most recent mother."

"That's alright Shuichi." She squeezed his hand, "You're my only son."

Kurama smiled and squeezed her hand back, "You might not think that when I regain my old body. You see, several years ago I was in a tournament which forced me to regress to before my death, into my old body, and after that point, with enough energy build up, I could change back to what I consider my true form, my original form."

"Oh."

"So, when the cops injected me, I reverted to that, but it wasn't stable, and the police nearly took my life because of their medications and sutra practices. You see, it takes a lot of energy to be in that form, and to transform between the two. So, when they put the sutras on me, I lost my energy, and then transformed into the form that uses more energy, which used it all up very quickly and I almost died."

"Is that why there was paper all over the cell?"

"Yes. That is their substitute for putting a sutra on me. Dr. Kiba saved my life by removing the sutra."

"I'll have to thank him."

"Well, it also means that the case could be considered attempted manslaughter or attempted premeditated murder."

"Mr. Minamino, do you know if other, err, demons were having these same issues? Where they were almost being killed by these, sutras and injections?"

"Of course. Any spirit animal like I am would have a similar problem with the injection because we naturally have two forms. Our human body takes more energy to use than our spirit body, so the sutra would try to suppress us down to the energy we use for our spirit body, and if we were stuck in a human body, we would die."

"I should talk to this Dr. Kiba also." The lawyer nodded.

Kurama nodded, "And also, if I wasn't who I am as a human, they were going to refuse me representation in the name of 'processing' which basically is demanding information from an individual to put it on the chip, which can then be used to track demons, and warn humans of demons in the area."

"We have a good case here Mr. Minamino."

"I'm aware," Kurama nodded. "I've studied the laws of this country, and frankly, it's about time someone puts it to trial."

The lawyer nodded, "Yes. I'll need to have a word with this doctor, he might have some information that can further this case and change how, demons are 'processed'."

"I was also attacked outright when I was here to free my friend. A dog just jumped on me and they assaulted me without trying to confirm who or what I was beforehand."

"Who were you freeing?" Shiori asked.

"Hiei. They assaulted him earlier today."

"Oh, that, makes sense that he's a demon." Shiori nodded.

Kurama smiled softly, "Yes, he was unaware of the law and had no way to learn about it until he was assaulted. He also had no way to comply."

"Did the injection or sutra hurt him?"

"Of course. Sutras are made to hurt. They are a tool used to burn away energy, literally." Kurama pulled up his sleeve to show the deep angry red burn mark.

The lawyer nodded, "Alright."

"He also needs a helper for some reason. Kiba said that he wasn't stable in some way and he needs a caretaker. I haven't spoken to him to find out what that is about."

"Alright." The lawyer nodded again, "We've got a lot of stuff on the table, I just have to get it all organized and into a case."

"Right. I'll cooperate with whatever you believe is the best case to fight is, but I would prefer to do it from outside of a jail cell if you can manage that."

"Of course, I'll see what I can do. If you have anything else I can use against this system, do let me know."

"I'd be happy to." Kurama began to explain all of the injustices, proofs, presidents, and potential cases he'd seen in the past few years since the law had begun cracking down on demons in Human World. They spent several hours going over it all even though Kurama was quick and brief about his explanations and descriptions. It was just too much to get through quickly.

By the end of it Shiori was shaking her head, but she took his hand again and squeezed it tight, "We're doing good, Shuichi."

"I'm sorry Mother. I lied about who I am to you."

"Just don't do it again."

Kurama chuckled, "Alright, well I suppose I should tell you now that I'm the infamous thief that contributed to Yomi's rise in power and I'm his general."

Shiori sighed too and watched him skeptically, "Anything else?"

He flushed, "Um, I'm not straight?"

"Well that's hardly the biggest reveal Shuichi." Shiori giggled.

The family continued to talk as the lawyer sat and organized his thoughts and searched things on the internet occasionally asking questions. By the time they were done, Kurama was exhausted and having a hard time keeping himself awake. They left, and he walked with the police officer back to his cell. Kurama fell asleep once his head hit the pillow.

Kurama pushed open his door feeling as dirty as a swamp and less than humorous for Hiei's bullshit if he decided to give him any. He was ready to rip into him until he saw him.

Hiei was curled up on the couch with a small girl with short black hair laying with him. She was awake and watching television while Hiei slept against her side.

"Hello?" He came into the living room and stared down at the two on his couch.

"Sorry, I'm Riva, Hiei's caretaker." She held out a hand to him.

Kurama shook it. "Why does he _still_ need you? Hasn't it been three days?" Kurama's ears fell back against his head and his tail twitched. He didn't like being around strangers when he was this tired.

Hiei yawned loudly, "Fox, you're home."

"I am. Now what do you need _her_ for?"

Riva left Hiei to explain it himself.

"When they put that shot in me it was like I was being frozen alive. I couldn't warm up. The doctor at the station got Riva to warm me up. I still need her or I'll freeze to death."

"Mm, I see. It's not going away?"

He shook his head, "No. We've tried, and I just end up shivering again."

"It's the sutra then. Your energy is too low for you to control enough of it to regulate your temperature."

"If we take it off I'll be in jail."

"Mm, well only if they catch you." Kurama remarked.

"Fox, I have to come here for work."

"But what we can do is put on a fake one, and then when they come to do their check with the energy monitor, have your energy low with restraints."

"They have a chip in us."

"So? The chip doesn't record your energy level from second to second."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I looked mine over thoroughly. There's no way for it to record your energy level, it just transmits the level they plug in."

"Riva?"

Riva flushed, "Well, I don't know anything about all of that, but I won't report you if you take it off. If I don't get back to work soon I'm going to lose my job."

"Hn."

"Well Hiei? It's your call."

"If you don't think I'm going to rot in jail, take the damn thing off."

Kurama nodded, "Let me just make a call really quick." He picked up the phone and dialed it. He was calling Kiba. If he could convince Kiba that there was a medical necessity for removing it, they might be able to do it legally just like his was removed legally.

It was a few rings before he answered it, "Hello, this is Dr. Kiba."

"This is Kurama."

"Ah, Kurama. How are you doing?"

"Hiei is not doing well. He's not recovering. The sutra is keeping him from being able to regulate his body. Without Riva's support, which we will be closing tomorrow due to work obligations, he will lose his life."

"I see." He heard Kiba shifting something around, "Can you keep him warm?"

"No," Kurama rejected bluntly. "What the hell do you think I am?"

"Hey, I have to ask these questions. It's not like I forgot." Kiba grumbled. He was still shifting things about, "Well, let's see, Hiei…" He heard Kiba humming for a few moments, "Alright, so let me do a few things and I'll call you back when you can take that off legally, alright?"

"Make it quick. Like I said, Riva's unable to be here tomorrow without losing her job."

"It won't be that long, I just have to get this paperwork done." Kiba offered, "So I'll call you later, alright?"

"Fine." Kurama hung up.

"Well?"

"He needs to talk to someone about it, but chances are high that you'll be able to remove it legally due to it endangering your health."

"Alright."

"Hiei, did you speak with my lawyer?"

"No?" Hiei frowned.

"You should file a negligence case against the police department, and a harassment case."

"Probably."

"That's what I've done. I'm suing them twelve ways to Sunday."

"Why doesn't that doctor sue them? He sees it."

"Because there wasn't anyone to fill my roll before. Once my cases go through, there will be precedent to argue that demons deserve the same rights as humans."

"Hn."

"That won't happen." Riva shook her head. "How could it? Humans have always been a selfish species. There's no way they would actually protect another species when their original arguments for their prejudices against their own kind were that their own humans were not the same species as them."

"Humans are confusing creatures."

Kurama sat down in his chair and leaned back in it, pulling his tail out from behind himself. "Well, the precedent is that demons can be humans."

"Hn."

"Human might be a different DNA structure, but demon is more about energy. If I can convince a jury to rule that humans are not just someone who does not have demon energy, then I could start a legal fight towards an end to this nonsense. They have to define a person again."

"Mm."

"We the people …." Riva remarked pointedly.

"Yes. We the people. Those famous last words."

"That's America, Fox."

"Oh, I'm aware as I'm sure Riva is, but that still matters here."

"Hn." Hiei closed his eyes.

"I'm sorry Hiei, this must be difficult for you to listen to." Riva commiserated.

"Hm?"

"Well after putting up with that police officer now you find out you could have done something about it."

"Yeah." Hiei sighed, "I don't know why he didn't just take the damn sutra off. He knew it was dangerous."

"Kiba isn't allowed to interfere unless it's a medical emergency. With me there, it wasn't."

"Hn. He could've taken it off and not gotten you to help."

"But he didn't. He solved the symptoms that were dangerous to your health rather than risking a potential solution that might not have worked."

"Hn." Hiei grunted.

Kurama yawned. "Hiei, I'm suffering too. I can't control which form I'm in. I just change at random and the change is painful on top of it. It never used to hurt this much to change."

"At least you won't die." Hiei huffed, "Fucking humans."

"We don't know that. I'm still in danger of dying, I'm just out of critical. My energy isn't recovering to where it should be because it's taking so much of it to just maintain one form or the other."

"Is that why you have that doctor's phone number?"

Kurama nodded. "He wants updates every time I change."

"He's going to be getting a lot of phone calls it seems."

"He needs another doctor here. You two are not his only cases right now. He's treating hundreds if not thousands of demons right now."

"Hn. If it continues he might start to grey from the stress." Hiei mused.

"Then we'd better fix it," Kurama contemplated aloud before he realized his lips were moving.

"What?"

Kurama coughed and covered his mouth to hide his blush. "Nothing."

Hiei opened an eye, "What did you say?"

"Nothing!" There was no way Hiei didn't hear him.

"You said then we'd better fix it. Why?"

Kurama shrugged slowly, "It would be a shame if he went gray."

"What, do you have a crush on him or something, Fox?"

"No! It's nothing like that," Kurama laughed, but he couldn't keep his nerves out of it.

"Then why are you reacting like this?"

"I do not have a crush on him!" Kurama pushed himself up, "I'm going to take a shower."

"Sure, you don't have a crush on him, and now that we're talking about him, you have to go take a shower." Hiei chuckled, "Hn, make sure it's cold, Fox."

"Leave it alone Hiei, or I'll teach you how lucky you are." Kurama was nearly out of the room.

"I'm leaving it alone, but I don't think you will in that shower."

Kurama glared at the boy on the couch but let him have that one. He wasn't going to leave it alone in the shower after all.


	4. Licking Wounds

Hiei groaned when Kurama's phone started going off, "Damn thing." He huffed and looked around for it. He finally found it and answered it, "Hello?"

"Hello, Hiei? You can now legally take off your sutra."

Hiei grinned, "Thanks, doctor. Is that all?"

"Yes, unless Kurama has an update for me."

"He's in the shower. Thanks, Kiba."

"Of course. Goodbye." Kiba hung up.

Hiei set the phone aside and grinned at Riva, "We can take it off."

"That's good news. Let me see it." Riva suggested waving her hand energetically at him.

Hiei offered her his arm.

Riva gently got a corner up, and then ripped it off sharply for him. "There, that should start making you feel better, but the drug itself has some energy eating properties. The chips run off demonic energy."

"Good." Hiei scooted away from her, holding his breath. He didn't freeze. He sighed in relief and nodded, "I'm not freezing."

"No, but you are exerting quite a bit of energy."

"Yeah." Hiei nodded, "Can you stay a while so I don't freeze if something goes wrong?"

"Yes, of course. Kurama was lying actually. I can stay tomorrow if I need to."

Hiei nodded. He just wanted it done quick, that's why he'd said tomorrow. Hiei didn't mind though, she smelled nice and she wasn't too bony. A nice nap partner. He glanced down towards the shower and almost shook his head. The stupid Fox. It was like him to get a crush on a doctor. Then again, he was enjoying napping with his caretaker, so he wasn't entirely one to speak.

"I'm sorry if I'm a regular bore for you."

"No, you're not a bore. You smell pretty decent and you're comfortable."

Riva chuckled. "Well you're so quiet I thought you were sick of my presence."

"Hn, I was thinking, and napping." Hiei nodded, "So why do you work for the humans?"

"Well I don't really have another choice at this point." Riva remarked softly. "If I go back to Demon World I'll be in danger, and if I stay here, the only way to live is to work for humans."

"What's dangerous in Demon World for you?"

Riva stared him in the eye considering what to tell him, then shook her head. "Demon World is dangerous Hiei. I don't know if you ever noticed that or not, but it is."

"Of course it is, but there are places were it's not, as dangerous."

"Sure, there are some areas, but do you really think I can get to them through a portal?"

"Yeah, you're not weak."

Riva frowned, "Actual energy doesn't mean much without the skill to back it up."

"Are you untrained then?"

She nodded.

"Hn. I could train you."

"I'm not good at learning," She shook her head.

"No?"

"No. My last teacher gave up on me," She replied casually.

"Well, you saved my life, so I'd be willing to teach you."

Riva sighed, "Maybe later, but right now I'd rather just get you better."

"Me too."

"Plus, I might not be happy working for these humans, but I wouldn't be any happier in Demon World."

"You don't think so?"

"I know so. I grew up in Demon World and I am happier here than I was there." Riva replied bluntly.

"Hn."

Riva sighed, "Well, you don't seem to be destabilizing. Maybe you should nap, let your energy recover."

"Yeah." Hiei crossed his arms over his chest and closed his eyes to nap. He was a few seconds in when he felt the freezing starting in his limbs. He opened his eyes and grabbed for Riva before he was frozen. She warmed him once their skin touched and moved closer.

"Okay, I guess you're not sleeping alone yet."

"No." Hiei curled up to her.

"That's alright though. It'll be easy to come over here for you to sleep, or you could come to my place."

"That works."

Riva nodded. "We can do that pretty simply. Then I can go to work in the morning and you just have to stay up all day. No napping."

"No naps." Hiei agreed.

"Would you rather come find me or have me come find you?"

"Um, I'll go to your place, give the Fox a break."

"You know that extroverts are a thing, right? Like, they're real?"

"He has a crush on Kiba."

"What does that have to do with anything? I'm just saying he might not want peace and quiet. He might be _extroverted_." She leaned in close and whispered the last word of that.

"And he has a crush on Kiba, so he'll go see him for his fill."

"So, he is one?"

"Kind of. He's odd."

"How can you only kind of be one?"

"Like I said, he's odd."

"You know, I have my suspicions about Kiba too. I think he might also be one."

"An extrovert, or odd extrovert?"

"An _extrovert_ ," she whispered it again.

Hiei snickered, "Maybe he is."

"I mean, I don't get it. Being with people is exhausting."

"It can be."

"Especially those extroverts. I mean, they're noisy, they need you to look at them, they're constantly seeking your attention whether you want to give it or not," she shook her head. "They're the type of person who will go conquering a world just to get attention."

"Yeah."

"I mean, why conquer it? You don't need it for anything."

"Because you can conquer it."

"Okay, but isn't that sort of, I don't know, rude?"

"Eh."

"It would sort of be like saying 'Hey guys, I know you like your freedom and all, but because I'm stronger than you, go jump off a cliff.'"

"Hn."

"I mean, subjugating a people can be one thing if you're doing it because you have an idea of how you want to do things and you want to try it out, but just because? Why? So what? So you rule for a little while."

"Hn."

"I'm not sure Enki has a plan," Riva mused.

"No?"

"No. I mean, he doesn't seem like he has one to me. He doesn't interact with Human World, he doesn't demand anything from Demon World, he's not making any changes, he's just maintaining."

"Maybe that's his plan."

"But what sort of plan is that?"

"It's, a weak plan, but a plan."

"It's more like an inspirational poster fail, like just a little cat with its leg all bandaged up saying 'I will not do worse today' in scrolly font."

He laughed and shook his head.

Riva fell quiet, watching him laugh.

Hiei stopped when she wasn't laughing and frowned, "What?"

She shook her head, "Nothing, it's just quiet and it's nice."

"What, my laughter?"

"No offense Hiei, but you're a quiet individual by your nature so I knew if I wasn't laughing, you'd quiet down, and you probably wouldn't say anything. You're not very curious about me."

"Hn."

She nodded, "Like that."

"Hn."

She looked back out the window again, letting the silence stand.

Hiei sighed and closed his eyes.

With Riva there, it wasn't a problem, but Hiei began to worry about when she wouldn't be there. She was going to have to take short shifts cleaning for the slobs at the cop's station. He was going to have to be on top of not napping.

Kurama nursed an injured arm as he waited patiently at the front of the police station for Kiba to come tend to him. He'd come there because he had to file a report. He tried to lean back against the wall and close his eyes, but he could still feel their anger as they picked up anything they could find and chuck it his way.

It took Kiba a few minutes before he came out, "Kurama, could you come with me? Do you need help walking?"

"I can walk, it's mostly superfluous that I can tell, but I need someone to make sure I'm right."

"Alright, please follow me." Kiba held open the door for him.

Kurama came through the door and followed far enough behind Kiba that he could check out his ass.

Kiba led him back into a room away from the cells. It had an examination table, and Kiba gestured to it, "Please, take a seat."

Kurama sat as ordered and pulled off his white tunic so Kiba could get a good look at him. He had bruises along his stomach, chest, lower back, and a bleeding abrasion on his arm, as well as some blood in his hair.

Kiba sighed, "Let me get this bleeding to stop and then I'll check on your bruises, alright?" He stepped over to a counter in the room with a small sink. Attached to it was a cabinet, and many rows of drawers. He grabbed a sterile swab and came over, "May I?" He gestured at his arm.

Kurama nodded.

Kiba gently took his arm in hand and gently dabbed away the blood. When it was mostly clean he rested his hand over it and raised his energy. The wound closed and Kiba stepped back, examining his work before nodding, "Are you alright if I touch your hair so I can see the injury on your head?"

"Yeah."

Kiba nodded, "Alright, I may brush against your ear, but I'm not meaning to." He shifted to start parting his hair.

"Too bad," Kurama snapped his mouth shut tight once he realized he'd said that out loud.

Kiba shifted to look at his face, "Do you want me to stop?"

"No." Kurama caught his eyes and flushed, searching his face desperately for some sort of confusion or maybe rejection, but he didn't see it.

"Alright, I'm going to touch your hair now. Let me know if I hurt you, it will be tender because you have an open wound, but I'll try to be as gentle as possible." Kiba offered. He started gently running his fingers through Kurama's hair, moving it aside. His wrist brushed against Kurama's ear, but he didn't seem to notice.

Kurama closed his eyes and continued to let Kiba search his head for the injury until he was off of it by a few inches, then he chose to make his comment. "It hurt back a little bit."

"Sorry." Kiba made his way over to it. When he found it, he dabbed gently at it and rested his hand over it. He healed it and fixed Kurama's hair, wiping off what blood he could, "That doesn't look to bad. Let me check something though." Kiba came around to face him and held up a finger, "Can you follow my finger with both eyes?" He started moving it side to side.

Kurama followed Kiba's finger without difficulty.

"Alright." Kiba nodded, "How fast was the car moving?"

Kurama's eyes snapped to Kiba in a flash, glaring. "Who said anything about a car?" he demanded. Was it someone in the office who hit him? He didn't think so, but maybe it was.

"Well, it's obvious." Kiba shrugged, "A human definitely didn't beat you with a bat, you're too strong, and what moves fast and isn't usually suspect of foul play? Cars. So how fast was the car moving?"

Kurama was impressed. He gave Kiba another close scrutiny before deciding he should probably answer him. "About thirty-five, maybe forty."

"Alright," Kiba shifted to look at his back, assessing what was there, "That's not hard enough to hurt a demon internally, but I'm going to check anyways. I'm going to touch your chest and stomach, is this alright?"

"Yes, Doctor."

Kiba nodded and gently touched the bruising. He scanned Kurama's chest and stomach with his energy and nodded, "As I thought, you're fine. Bruising. If you wanted some extra comfort you could wrap your ribs, but it's not necessary."

"Thank you."

"Of course. If you start having blurry vision or really bad headaches, let me know, but you feel perfectly fine to me, just some bruises and scratches."

Kurama wasn't going to admit he came over to the police station just to see him because he wanted to. He knew he wasn't bleeding internally and that he didn't have a concussion, but 'better safe than sorry' was a good enough excuse to see the man again as any, and he had a legitimate cause this time. "I'll let you know," Kurama agreed.

"Alright. Take it easy for a little while," Kiba nodded, "Is that all you wanted me to look at?"

Kurama tried to think of some way to fabricate a need for Kiba to look at his dick, but he couldn't think of one. He nodded, "Yes, that's it. Can I get a work excuse for my tardiness? I was walking to work when I was struck."

"Of course." Kiba sighed and headed over to the counter. As soon as his back was turned, Kurama leaned enough to see his ass at a better angle. Even with the lab coat, Kurama could get a pretty good idea with how he moved. Kiba scribbled out a note and handed it to Kurama, "Here you are, if they don't think it's real they're welcome to call me."

"Oh, they will." Kurama let his eyes wander across Kiba's body again. "I don't suppose you get days off," Kurama questioned casually.

"No, I'm the only doctor here."

"Too bad."

Kiba sighed and nodded but didn't comment.

"Have you spoken to Yukina?"

"Yukina?" He frowned.

"She's a healer at the embassy."

"Yukina, hm. No, I can't say I remember Yukina."

"She's one of the ambassadors. I can't believe she wouldn't pass through here."

"She may have. I have many patients." Kiba rubbed the back of his neck.

"Well if you ever want a day off, you could try calling her up to have her come cover your shift maybe. She's a healer, not a doctor, but she could probably do it for a day." Kurama pushed himself off the table and got to his feet.

"That'd be nice, I could use a day away from this office." Kiba sighed, but smiled, "But I have people to help and lives to save."

"Don't we all," Kurama smiled. "I'll see you around Doctor." Kurama inclined his head to the man.

"Kiba, please."

"Only if you'll call me Kurama." Kurama lowered his chin more to open his eyes and appear less threatening, or at least that was how he hoped it looked. He might be a youko at the moment, but he didn't want to scare his crush.

"I can do that." Kiba nodded.

"Goodbye, Kiba." Kurama turned away from him, swishing his tail to follow his twist and then dragging it down against his leg.

"Goodbye, Kurama."

Kurama strolled out of the room with a bit more strut in his step than he intended, pulling on his shirt again as he left.


	5. Coming Home

The little tight black tank top Riva had on looked about as appealing as her skin. She had on pants that accented her rounded hips and with every step she took, or lean she made, her long legs creased the light pants around her body.

Hiei sat with his chin in his hand and a pillow settled on his lap trying not to look like he was staring when he really was. He enjoyed watching attractive women fight, but cleaning? There wasn't much sexy about cleaning, but for whatever reason it was hitting all the right buttons.

She bent at the hips to pick up a piece of mail that had fallen to the floor by a table near her entryway and her pants pulled taut around her butt giving him a beautiful view of it. She didn't stay bent over though, instead she continued on, walking around the living room picking up things from the floor, finding dust and wiping it off with the wet rag in her hand, and pushing things around on their shelves, tables, and surfaces.

Eventually she grabbed a rag and bucket to clean the floor, then sat at one end, cleaned off her feet, then began to run the rag back and forth with her butt in the air, and her hands on the floor on the rag. Each time she got back to the starting side, and the bucket, she'd clean off the rag, dripping the wet mixture about. It drained up her scarred arms as she wrung it out before beginning to run it again. With each pass, she came closer and closer to where he sat on the couch, and he could see her ass in the air in more detail with each progression.

This was one of those times he was glad he had good control over himself, or he could see a conflict arising. Still, he was greatly enjoying the view and at some point when she was done and wasn't paying attention to him he'd need to make a break for the bathroom, but for now he could sit and watch.

It perplexed him, though. Getting this, excited, about watching a beautiful woman wasn't very like him. Sure, he'd gotten a few erections he'd had to run and hide, but it wasn't like him. Hell, people on the bug made jokes about whether or not he really had a dick because his sexual appetite wasn't out in the open for anyone to learn, and he kept all the comments and thoughts to himself.

Riva began to clean around the rug beneath the sitting area, and that meant she was closer and in front of the couch rather than behind it. While it made it easier to watch her, it was more difficult to hide that he was doing it.

It didn't help that he couldn't pretend to nap, so instead he just glanced at her ass when he could and watched her face when she was at an angle to see his. He was really hoping she wasn't smelling any hormones he was putting off.

Once she got done with the floor in the living room and entry area, she started down the hall right off the wall behind the couch, which meant if he moved over on the couch, he could watch her descend the hall straight back from his position, and then he'd have to turn around to avoid her seeing him watching her come back. It was a risk, especially since it would be obvious he was moving to watch her.

So, instead, Hiei got up and retrieved a glass of water. He sat back down in the spot he needed to be in to watch her, and kicked his feet up, snatching the pillow back. He was going to enjoy the show while it lasted.

She finished the hallway in just a few passes and started on the kitchen where he couldn't see her.

He sighed quietly in defeat and headed off to the bathroom.

When he was done relieving himself, he came back out to find her tucked away in the kitchen still, but now she was doing dishes, which was almost more enticing for some reason. She had some sort of meat on the stovetop in a pan which drew him into the room, and then he found her arm-deep in a sink full of dirty dishes, her short-cut black hair tickling her shoulders as it swayed with each scrubbing motion, and the front of her black shirt damp from water splashes.

Hiei walked over to the stovetop and examined the meat there, "What are you making?"

"Dinner." She replied softly, her tone as gentle as her appearance.

Hiei leaned against the counter and watched her. He couldn't be hidden about it in here, but even though he was much more tempted to grab her around the waist and try to seduce her, she wasn't doing something that could be very sexual, like having her ass up in the air. God, she was a tease.

A tease that he didn't understand. What skin he'd caught sight of was littered with scars, and he could only imagine the rest of it was too. She seemed like a gentle soul, but at some point, she'd been to hell, but she'd come back. He didn't understand it, so he continued to watch her.

Riva glanced at him timidly from below her bangs, but when she caught his eyes, she jerked hers back down to the dishes.

"What?"

"Nothing." She flushed and looked away from him towards the corner on the far side.

"Something, so tell me what it is."

"I wasn't expecting you to just be staring at me like that," she murmured.

"Hn." Hiei shrugged, "I do it to the Fox a lot."

She tucked her head down a little, hiding behind her shoulder, pushing it forward more to block his view of her boobs. She was making herself look smaller, but it pushed her boobs together a little more and since he was leaning on the counter, he could just see down her shirt easier.

"That makes it easier to look down your shirt, you know." Hiei dragged his eyes away from her.

She grabbed the front of her shirt and hiked it up, exposing her belly, before diving her hands back into the hot soapy water. The wet suds from her hands hung on her chest like a soft fluffy foam accenting her boob, gradually dripping down to the shirt.

Now her shirt was wet, so it clung to her. Hiei sighed and looked around for a rag. He grabbed one off to the side on the counter. He offered it to her, "Here, dry yourself off."

She looked down at her top, then the water gradually evaporated, and the bubbles all popped away. He could feel the heat radiating off her skin.

"Hn, either way, I'm more of a hips guy." He offered, tossing the rag aside.

Riva dumped some of the clean dishes into the rinse side of the sink and reached back in again. It took her a little bit to start scrubbing, and after she did, she started the water on the rinse side, reaching across her body with the knife, rinsing it with her left hand rather than her closer, right hand, which she just left on the sink holding the divider casually. She rinsed the knife and set it in the utensil stand, then went back to washing something on the left. Hiei noticed some of the bubbles were a little pink.

"Did you cut yourself?"

"It's not bad," she dismissed.

Hiei shifted himself a little, "No?"

"No." She picked her right hand out of the water and held it palm-out to show him. Her index finger had a cut down the sensitive pad of her finger which dripped blood down her arm as she showed him.

"Hn." Hiei reached out and wiped off her arm before settling back against the counter.

She continued washing the dishes like it wasn't hurting her at all, but Hiei knew better from personal experience with hand injuries. They always hurt like a mother fucker on the fingers, especially on the pads because that area of the skin had so many pain receptors. It hadn't been a superficial cut either, it looked like it was a few layers deep.

"Riva."

"Yeah?" she asked as she rinsed another utensil with her right hand rather than her left.

"Where'd you get all your scars?"

"Mm, fighting."

"But now you're not a fighter, why?" Was she lying to him again?

"I fell out of it," she replied quietly.

Hiei frowned, "Fell out of it?" How did you fall out of fighting?

"Yeah, I don't like it anymore." She said it casually, but it sounded rehearsed, and most of her scars didn't look like something you could get by fighting. For instance, she had a scar he could see on her upper arm which was clearly from some restraint rubbing circularly around her shoulder and under her armpit.

"Uh huh." Hiei reached out and touched the scar, "So what's this?"

"A whip, like your friend's." she replied. "I was caught around the arm."

"Whips don't leave scars like this."

She shrugged and leaned away from him getting his hand off her shoulder, "Well that's what it was."

He didn't believe her, but he respected her space and moved out of it. He could see a mirrored scar on the other shoulder when he moved, which just confirmed his suspicions. She was lying to him. There was no way that was a whip. It had to be restraints. Someone had tied her up to something. He could see more marks from her fighting restraints around her wrists and elbows.

"So, where you a slave or something?"

Riva stopped moving, stopped breathing, just froze. He could smell the fear permeate the air after just half a second.

Hiei frowned, "Riva?"

She looked over at him bug-eyed.

Hiei watched her, waiting.

Eventually, she dropped her project in the sink and flicked her hands off in the sink, then left the room. She was only gone for a few seconds, but when she came back, she was in a thick long-sleeved turtle neck that didn't hug her form at all. In fact, it looked like she was drowning in it. She had a bandage around her finger taping it off.

"So, you're going to hide them? They're beautiful."

She ignored him in favor of caring for the dishes.

"Riva."

"I don't want to talk about it," Riva replied stiffly as she dumped another utensil in the holder.

"Hn."

She washed off a few plates and rinsed them, then dried them with the rag before flipping the meat in the pans over and cooking them for a little while longer as she dried the rest of the utensils and tools. When she finished, she plated the two slabs of meat and brought the utensils over to the table. She set a place for Hiei, and then one for herself. She sat down in her spot and started cutting into her steak.

Hiei came over after she was seated and started eating. The poor meat had been devastated by her cooking skills. It was rubbery and hard to chew.

Riva didn't seem to notice, she just cut it up into small pieces and ate slowly.

Hiei sighed and accepted the meal. If it could be called a meal, it was just a piece of overcooked meat. She hadn't even prepared any sides to go with it like rice or some sort of vegetable. It had been a long time since Hiei had a 'meal' this simple. Still, he wasn't going to bash her cooking, now. Maybe later when she wasn't upset, or he'd offer to cook. That was better.

The worst part was that he couldn't even excuse it as her not having gone to the store in a while. He'd watched her go to the store and pick out meat, then leave. She'd been at the store where she could have gotten things for a side, but she didn't. She chose to just eat a meal of meat without a side.

"Riva," Hiei offered slowly.

"What?" she snipped.

This was a bad idea, "Never mind."

She glanced up at him, challenge in her eyes, then looked back down at her plate. She'd been sawing at a part of the steak that had a bone in it without realizing it, but finally she moved her knife over a little.

"You cook horribly." Hiei offered.

She glanced up sheepishly, her cheeks flushed.

"I'll buy us an actual meal." He offered.

"No, I don't need a different dinner, this is fine. If you don't like it then you don't have to eat it."

"Well, whenever I'm here again, I'm getting dinner, consider it a treat on me."

"No, you don't quite understand yet what that tag means."

"What?"

"It'll be difficult for you to buy a meal from somewhere."

"Hn, I'll try anyways."

"Fine, but I'll continue to make my own dinners."

"Alright, but at least add some rice." Hiei sighed.

Riva frowned, "Why?" she was staring at him this time.

"It's good bulk food, it fills you up. It's also grain."

"Rice is a meal in itself, why would you add it to this? That would be like eating two dinners at once."

"No, you put a little on the side." Hiei indicated a small spot on his plate.

She stared at him with that deep frown on her face until she finally decided it wasn't worth it and just shook her head and looked back down at her meat. She popped another little bit in her mouth.

"Or vegetables. Variety."

"You eat too much."

"You don't eat enough." Hiei huffed, "If I eat too much," He looked down at himself, "How do you explain my body?"

"What about your body?"

Hiei frowned and considered the statement, "Hn. I eat a warrior's diet."

She lifted an incredulous eyebrow in his general direction, glancing up at him.

"Which means I eat a lot because I burn a lot."

She didn't argue her point but chewed.

Hiei sighed, "Let's meet at Kurama's tomorrow. You can have a, proper dinner."

"This is a proper dinner. I'm not rich. I thought you'd enjoy eating some meat, so I got it."

Now he was just being insulting and he recognized it. He sighed, "I apologize, I was just," he shrugged, "It doesn't matter,"

She finished about half her steak before chopping up the rest and dumping it into a Tupperware and sticking it in the fridge.

Hiei frowned but didn't comment.

She came back to the table with a cup of water for herself, but she sat sideways so she wasn't facing him, staring out the back window as she drank.

Hiei wasn't sure how to amend what he'd done and said to her, so he stayed quiet and ate.

When he finished, she got up and took his plate for him, dumping it into the soapy sink after rinsing it off.

"Riva," Hiei sighed. It was hard for him to say, but he knew he needed to try to apologize again, "I'm sorry for what I said."

She dried her hands off and turned around to look at him. "I thought I could be comfortable with you Hiei. I thought it wouldn't matter, that I could show you my-" she frowned, "my scars and you wouldn't-" her mouth puckered into a hard, little ball as she stiffened, and her shoulders drew up.

"Well you commented the other day on how I don't ask about you, so, I thought I would."

"I don't need some interrogation!" Riva snapped loudly.

"It was hardly an interrogation."

"That's what it always is," her voice was weak.

Hiei frowned, "If you want people to know about you, they're going to ask about your scars, they want to know why you stopped fighting. These are the things people ask. They want to know the backstory, know the pain."

"They don't make me who I am!" He could see the pain on her face. The whole thing was puckered and tense.

"They do, but you just don't realize it. They make you shy about the subject, they make you close yourself up and make yourself smaller."

"People don't want the truth Hiei. They want to believe that you're some- some person they don't have to think to deal with. They want to put you in a box and leave you there."

"I do, I want the truth."

"No, you don't. You want to assume and believe that I had this history you can compile and recognize. You want familiarity."

Hiei sighed, "I was never restrained like that, and I hardly have a good history myself."

"Not familiar to you." She huffed and turned away from him looking back out the window again.

"Well it's a touchy subject, I'll try not to bring it up again."

She dropped her head, staring into the soapy water.

"If you don't want to open up about yourself, don't seem like you want to tell people about yourself."

She held the edge of the sink and stepped closer to it, but she didn't actually start cleaning again, just stared at it.

"I thought you'd want the conversation, but you don't. I'm sorry."

"Just, do what you're good at and shut up."

Hiei grunted and shut up.

She started draining the soapy water putting new in and cleaning off the dishes again. She put them away in her cupboards this time. Everything went into the cupboards, even the silverware. It sat in a silverware tray meant for a drawer, but it was up above her head. She took it down to put the silverware away, then stuffed it back up again above the glasses, plates, and bowls.

Hiei sighed and stood, "I, don't have to sleep tonight. I'll, uh." He frowned. He could go visit Kurama.

"That's up to you," Riva replied as she filled her water glass and headed for the living room.

"I don't want to upset you more."

"This isn't a relationship about feelings, it's about need. If you need to sleep, you need to stay. It doesn't matter how I feel."

"Yes, it does." Hiei huffed.

She shook her head, "No, it doesn't. I'm a big girl Hiei, I can shut up too."

"Yes, it does, your feelings matter."

He couldn't read the expression that crossed her face. It was an odd one, and it was gone pretty quick.

"It's your choice."

"I'm going to go and see Kurama. You saved my life, I shouldn't be saying these things to you." Hiei nodded, "I'll see you later, Riva."

"Tell me when you need to nap," she tapped her temple.

"Alright." Hiei nodded and headed for the door.

Hiei left quickly and made his way over to Kurama's. He came in through the bedroom window and called out, "Fox!"

"In here Hiei!" Kurama called out from the kitchen.

Hiei made his way into the kitchen and spied the redhead in front of the oven, "Fox." He greeted, taking a seat on the counter.

"Hello Hiei, what's wrong?" Kurama asked cautiously.

"Hn." He hated and loved how Kurama knew things so quickly, "I upset Riva."

"She kicked you out?" Kurama demanded, offended by that.

"I kicked myself out."

"Oh." Kurama studied the rice pilaf he was making and dumped some onto a plate, then grabbed another, dumping the rest on that one. "What did you do?"

"I," He sighed, "The other day she made this comment about how I don't ask about her or anything, so I did. I asked about this scar on her shoulder, it's a scar from a restraint, I can tell. She tried to tell me it was a whip and then I asked if she was a slave," Hiei sighed, "She got upset and put this huge sweater thing on and wouldn't talk to me about it, then I insulted her cooking because it's shit, and when I tried to apologize she got more upset, but she-" He frowned, "It was like, she wanted me to ask about her but she didn't want to tell."

"It sounds like she's still conflicted about her past."

"Hn. So, I left so I wouldn't upset her more. She's been a fucking tease all afternoon, I really didn't want to upset her by groping her in my sleep."

"A tease?" Kurama plated some well-seasoned chicken on the plates and then dumped on vegetables. He brought them to his table and sat down putting one in Hiei's spot next to him rather than across the table from him.

"God, she's been cleaning all day and she's had her ass up in the air and everything, and she wore these tight clothes. I had to go relieve myself, Fox." Hiei added, coming over, "Thanks, this is a proper meal."

"Sounds like you two are having marital issues," Kurama teased.

"Hn. I don't understand it." Hiei took a bite and sighed in delight. This was so much better. This was a dinner.

"So, she's not a good cook, she cleaned her house today, she got sensitive when you asked her about her past, but you think she wanted you to ask."

"Yeah." Hiei frowned, "Kurama, I don't, normally feel this hormonal towards attractive women."

"Who are you usually attracted to?"

"Hn, that weapon room girl, the one with the corset."

"You mean the one who kicked your ass."

"Yeah."

"And Mukuro?"

"Not the same, but she's attractive." Hiei agreed.

"What about me?"

Hiei examined him, "You have hips." He nodded, going back to his meal.

Kurama laughed, "Hips. You go after hips? I thought it was something like strength or the ability to kick your ass."

"It's something to grab onto." Hiei nodded, "That too. I like strength and the ability to kick my ass."

"Well maybe you won't find her attractive once you don't need her services."

"But, I had an erection and everything Fox. It was, unexpected."

"Sometimes that changes too Hiei." Kurama shrugged. "I mean, I didn't used to be attracted sexually to people who were intelligent, but now I am. That attraction has become more prevalent in my life."

"So, what do you think of me, Fox, am I attractive?" He challenged.

"Mm, no. You're a child in my eyes Hiei. I can't get how young you are out of my head."

Hiei sighed, "I don't feel like a child, more like those human teenagers or something."

"Yeah, I wouldn't fuck one of them either."

Hiei laughed.

Kurama shrugged. "Now that tight ass of Kiba's," Kurama grinned mischievously.

"Oh, does he have a nice ass?"

"He does." Kurama smiled warmly.

"Did you go and see him or something?"

Kurama nodded and sat forward, "I got hit by a car today. Perfect excuse."

"What?" Hiei frowned.

"Yeah. This mob got angry with me because I had my ears out and I was in public and one of them threw a trash can at my head, and knocked me into the road, where a bus hit me."

Hiei shook his head, "So you went to Dr. Kiba to get fixed up."

Kurama grinned toothily, "Exactly."

"Did you get any action?"

Kurama shook his head and moped, "He's working all the time."

"Hn. You'll have to come up with an excuse to show him your dick, say there's a bump or something."

Kurama nodded and sat back to consider that, "But that would be difficult to convince him of."

"Tell him you think it's cancerous or something, I don't know."

"Hiei, I'm a demon."

Hiei shrugged.

"What if I told him it turned green?"

"Hn." Hiei frowned, "He might think it's an STD."

"An STD that turns your penis green? I figured he might think it's some sort of blood problem."

"Green? What about blue or red?" Hiei nodded.

"Well those colors aren't a serious condition."

"Purple."

Kurama nodded, "Purple could work."

"Purple is more convincing."

"Oh, I might have a better one, something bit my dick. Maybe a spider."

Hiei laughed.

Kurama chuckled too. "I don't know, maybe I'll just have to tie him up and have my way with him."

"It's not like he can fuck you in that station."

"Well I could always make a medical excuse for him to come over here, and then just get really horny, so he can feel it when he walks in."

"But then he might leave."

"Not if I catch him." Kurama nodded towards his plants.

"Wait until he's in, and then, do it." Hiei nodded.

Kurama smiled slowly as the fantasy came together. "Oh, but he'll know something's off the moment he gets close to my house. He's an empath."

"Or, you could get an injury on your thigh." Hiei nodded, "Both, thighs."

"Or maybe you could break my hip and I could seduce him when he heals it."

"I'm not breaking your hip, Fox."

Kurama frowned, "It was just an idea."

"I think you should get some cuts on your thighs."

"Mm. Maybe. I could call him over tonight telling him I felt dizzy."

"There you go." Hiei nodded.

Kurama flushed and shook his head, "No, no, hold on. This is ridiculous. It's just all these body changes are getting me horny. I feel I just woke up every time I change bodies."

"But you like him Fox."

"Yeah, I like him. I don't want to rape him. I just, forgot that was a thing."

Hiei looked up at him, waiting.

Kurama frowned, "Maybe I'll invite him on a date."

"But you said he's working."

"Yeah, he works during the day, but he might have the nights off to sleep. Plus, I told him he needs to call Yukina and invite her to help his practice in the cop's office."

"Hn."

"If anyone can convince the police to be kinder to demons, it's Yukina."

"That's true, but if any of them hurt her." Hiei growled under his breath.

"I'm sure she'll be fine, Hiei."

"Hn."

"Anyway, back to Riva. I don't really see why you're confused. It sounds like she was just making a comment about you leaving her history alone because she was happy about it."

"I'm more confused about my hormones."

"Well that's easy. You're sexually attracted to people who help you. The woman in the armory helped you by making you that new sword, Mukuro helped you, I helped you. Hell, I bet you're even partially attracted to Yusuke because of all the aid he's given us over the years."

Hiei set his utensil down and rubbed at his temple, "Hn."

"It's okay Hiei. You might not want to admit it, but I think it's sweet that you're attracted to people who you feel gratitude towards. I mean, the other option is you're attracted to people who best you in combat, in which case the list would be the same aside from Riva."

Hiei sighed and started eating again, "Yeah."

"In a way, she was stronger than you for a long time, so you could feel like she bested you in that way."

Hiei nodded.

"Either way is possible really." Kurama stuffed his mouth so he wouldn't keep talking.

Hiei finished his plate and set it in the sink.

"The question really is what are you planning? Are you going to do anything about it?"

"I don't know."

"Well if you do, what are the pros and cons?"

Hiei sighed, "Fox."

"Oh, don't give me that. You need to consider the potentials Hiei."

Hiei poked in the freezer for some ice cream. He found the chocolate and grabbed a spoon, sitting on the counter.

"Hiei, you can't avoid thinking about it forever."

"I know."

"Well, if you decide, let me know." Kurama finished his plate and set it in the sink retreating to the living room.

Hiei followed him out into the living room, "Don't let me fall asleep, Fox."

"Alright Hiei. Maybe you should just go back to her place when I go to bed?"

"Yeah."

"I mean, I know you can usually go several days without sleep, but these are not normal circumstances. You're still recovering energy too."

Hiei nodded, "Yeah."

"What should we do in the meantime?"

Hiei shrugged, "I don't know, you're the one with good ideas here."

"Hn, good ideas, right. You do remember that I was taken in by the police, right?"

"Yeah, but I was too."

"You haven't been here in three months, I still live here."

"Hn, whatever." Hiei stuck a large bite of ice cream into his mouth.

"If you get a brain freeze finally I'm going to laugh my ass off."

"Fuck off." Hiei snapped around his ice cream.

"Mm, you say that like I have an ass here to fuck."

"You would if you got anywhere with Kiba."

"Yeah, but I'm not going to and he's not here, so," Kurama let his voice trail off, shrugging.

"Hn."

They spent the rest of the night talking about what had been happening with their lives since they'd last seen one another. Hiei had more interesting news than Kurama, but hearing about Demon World was always a nice familiar feeling for the fox.

Hiei left when Kurama went to bed and snuck into Riva's bed. He didn't bother waking her to tell her he was there, he just laid down and closed his eyes.


	6. Changes Must be Made

It was a week later, and Kurama was home after having another run in with the populace that hadn't turned out so well. He nursed a sore spot on his head with ice and dialed his phone. Someone had grabbed his ear and tried to yank it off his head. It felt bloody, and he needed Kiba.

It took several rings before he answered, "Hello, this is Dr. Kiba."

"Come here," Kurama's deep voice summoned bluntly. It wasn't a request, it was a demand. He didn't have energy to play human right now, especially not with his ear hurting this bad.

"Um, are you having a medical emergency then?"

"Yes," he growled at him. Why else would he be calling?

"Alright, alright! I have to ask these questions, I'll be over as soon as possible." Kiba hung up.

Kurama hung up as well and dropped his phone onto the couch before going to grab a new towel for his ice.

It took about twenty minutes before there was a knock on his door.

Kurama reached out with his power and draped down the protective vine he had hung around his door, it pulled open the handle and let go to admit Kiba. For his part, Kurama was laying on his recliner with his eyes shut trying to stop the pounding in his head. It wasn't working.

"Kurama?" He heard the door close and Kiba step closer, "What happened?"

"Humans." Kurama murmured, trying not to annoy his ears by speaking loudly.

Kiba came over, "Oh, I see, alright. I'll need to touch your ear and hair to see the extent of the damage."

Kurama glared at him, furious about the idea, and ready to snap his hand off.

Kiba sighed, "Do you want help or not?"

"You're a healer."

"Yes, but I also have to tell the cops what I heal."

"The fucking cops can go get gang raped by minotaur."

"You don't have to work for them, I do." Kiba snapped, "Fine, I'll just write up when I see. I'll need to put my hand near your ear so I can heal it."

Kurama wasn't sure about that either. He stayed glaring at him.

"If I hurt you, you can punch me." Kiba offered.

Kurama was reluctant to accept that, but he didn't have much of a choice. The problem was that his body refused to accept it. As soon as Kiba started reaching out for his head, Kurama swiped his arm away and slipped out of his chair heading towards the shadow of the stairs.

"Kurama, I cannot help you if you walk away from me!"

"Well you should have made it here faster!" The noise made Kurama grimace as it was, let alone the movement.

"I had a life or death situation I had to handle."

Kurama growled viciously, glaring at the man.

"You called me over here to heal you, so allow me to heal you or I will leave." Kiba raised his energy towards Kurama.

At first, Kurama was uncomfortable feeling Kiba's energy, but once he realized what he was doing, he went for the kitchen. He came back with a bottle of white wine and a large glass. He filled the glass and drank it down quickly, dulling his senses and making him feel woozy. He sat down heavily on the couch and started pouring himself another tall glass.

Kiba came over slowly and sat down beside him, "Alright, I suppose this works." He shifted closer and gently placed his hand near Kurama's ear, feeding energy into it.

Kurama sighed and leaned towards Kiba's hand. He sipped the alcohol when he felt the pain again, but Kiba didn't hurt him much. It took Kiba a few minutes before he took his hand away and nodded.

"There, it's healed."

"Thank you." Kurama set his glass aside and lay back on the couch. His ear still ached a little, but it wasn't bad. "I can't keep doing this. I just need to be able to get to work without getting attacked by a mob. They see the ears and tail and they just-" he shook his head slowly.

"I suppose I'm lucky in that department, I don't really look like a demon."

"Did you ever learn about human history?"

"Some."

"I think I need to take a page out of the American's book and start an equality movement."

"America?" Kiba was quiet for a minute, "Oh, right, that one. With all the little, states." He nodded, "That'd be helpful."

"You could help me." Kurama opened a golden eye to see Kiba's response to the suggestion.

"How?"

"Well back during the freedom movements, they used publicity. In more recent years, that changed to commercials, documentaries, that sort of thing. I was thinking about making one of those to show what we go through."

"That'd be interesting."

"Yeah, I actually started it already. I've been wearing a camera to record my walks in when I'm a youko versus a human."

"That's good. I can't do that," Kiba sighed and rubbed his neck.

"But you could let me interview you."

"That'd work." Kiba nodded, "You have anything else I need to heal?"

"My ego?" Kurama sat up slowly, feeling woozy from the alcohol.

Kiba gently touched his arm to keep him steady, "Then I should be getting back."

"Alright. Let me know when you have a night off and we'll do the interview."

Kiba nodded and stood, "Alright, please let me know if anything else happens."

"Mmhmm." Kurama searched for his phone on the couch so he could call off work. There was no way he was going in with the headache he'd developed, or this boozed up. Plus, he couldn't get there without something else happening.

Kiba left with a simple, "Goodbye."


	7. Interview with a Fire Demon

Hiei sat in front of Kurama's camera feeling awkward and belligerent, but the fox had told him he needed to act like a decent human being for the questions. He wore colors, his blue fighting tunic, and Kurama had put a little makeup on him to 'help his eyes stand out' but the awkward part was that Kurama had insisted he take off his bandana and let the Jagan open for the interview.

"Alright Hiei, when the light comes on, I want you to state your name, age, and where you come from in Demon World, then I'll ask a question, and you respond. Try to make the responses meaningful, okay? I want you to be my final representation. Don't make it trite and mean, but answer in a way that will look good on demons to humans, okay?"

"Where I'm from, Fox. I can't say that."

"You're from Gendara. I don't mean where were you born, I mean where are you migrating from."

"Fine." Hiei agreed.

"Also, try to restate the question in your answer. I want to break these up, so if you do that, I can cut out my question to you."

"Alright." Hiei nodded, shifting a little. He wasn't sure if he was the right material for this, but he'd try.

The little light on the camera in the darkness across from him turned on, and he saw Kurama nod towards him. He was recording.

"My name is Hiei Jaganshi, I'm ninety years old, and I'm from Gendara." Hiei offered.

"Why did you come to Human World?"

"I came to Human World to see a good friend of mine."

Kurama waved his hand behind the camera, egging him on. He wanted him to keep sharing.

"I also come to Human World to bring back humans I've rescued from Demon World, and I also rescue humans in Human World from rogue demons who cross the portal and try to hurt them."

"How long have you been saving humans?"

Hiei sighed softly, "I've been saving humans for about 10 years now."

Kurama waved his hand again, encouraging him.

Hiei wasn't sure what to say, "I save humans from demons who may want to kill them or otherwise harm them, and I take them back to where I work and remove any memory of the experience, so they don't have to live the rest of their lives in fear. I've helped children, men, women, just about every kind of person."

Hiei saw Kurama pause the camera's recording for a second. "Tell me a story Hiei. I want you to give me specifics." He re-started the recording again.

Hiei swallowed a few times, trying to pick out a story. He looked away from the camera, "Once I saved this little girl, she had to be, maybe 7 or 8. Luckily nothing had really managed to harm her, but she had a few scratches we had to wrap. I remember how scared she was, she just wanted her parents and her little toys," Hiei paused for a moment as he remembered her, "She'd lost her stuffed bunny to the demons who were trying to hurt her, and I wasn't able to grab it, but she did somehow keep ahold of a little stuffed tabby cat. I ran her back to Mukuro's as quickly as I could. We safely got her unconscious, so she wouldn't struggle and hurt herself and I started going through her memories with my Jagan eye. I managed to find where it started and erased it all and added in something easier for her to understand so she wouldn't be experiencing a complete memory loss. After taking care of a few other humans we'd saved, I took the little girl back to Human World and woke her up. I helped her back to her house and explained to her parents that she'd been wandering around the park alone and I'd seen some suspicious figures roaming around. She'd been missing for several hours by that point, and they were very kind to me and grateful. They invited me in for food, tried to give me money," He shook his head, "All those things, and I did accept the food and talking to them, but I told them more than anything I wanted them to get her another stuffed bunny and to keep her safe. I used to check in on her from time to time, nothing serious, just seeing if she was alright, but I stopped when she became older and I knew she was more capable of knowing who was going to hurt her."

"What happens if you don't wipe someone's memory?"

"If I don't wipe someone's memory, they'll remember everything that happened to them." Hiei looked back at the camera, "A long time ago, when I first started saving humans, when the barrier first came down, I didn't do the memory wipe too often, I wasn't skilled like I am now. I was scared of erasing everything, and in a way, it felt like violating their rights. I saved this man. I looked through his memories and, I was very scared to erase the bad ones of Demon World. He had such a good life, a wife who loved him and treated him like he was the world, and a couple of kids, a boy and a girl. He was a strong man too. He'd lived through hardship before. I thought he could handle it if anyone could. I took him back to Human World and left. I checked in a few months later to find the man was a nervous wreck. He was going downhill fast. He was racing this motorcycle down the freeway darting in and out of the vehicles, practically begging someone to hit him, and when he stopped, it was at a bar where he drank himself to a stupor and tried to drive home. I took him home instead. I didn't want to see this man I saved die. All the way home he was crying in my arms about what he'd experienced in Demon World. He couldn't handle it, and he didn't even experience the worst I've seen. I was tempted to wipe him right there, and I don't know why I didn't. I guess I was holding out hope he'd get the support humans have. So, I took him home to his wife and kids and left. A week later, he was dead. He killed himself. I've always felt responsible for his death, like I was too weak at the time, I didn't trust myself enough. Over the years I give his family flowers and random gifts, just anonymously, I've always felt like their pain was my fault. From the day I learned he was dead, I decided that I would wipe every human I saved so they wouldn't have to remember it and not be able to handle it. Not everyone can do that though, and the suicide rate of those rescued from Demon World for those who cannot get them to someone to wipe their memories is astronomically high. It's around eighty five percent. Another ten percent of that attempts suicide at some point within the first year, and the last five percent attempt it within the first five years. We have to wipe their memories to save them."

"Thank you Hiei, that was perfect. We're going to move on to the next section."

"Alright."

"What is your favorite thing about Human World?"

"My favorite about Human World is the peace. Human World is very peaceful compared to Demon World, it's a nice break."

Kurama coaxed him for more again.

"I like going out to the ocean, watching it pound against the beach. It's a good place to sit and think, and it's peaceful. The air is tussling your hair around, you can hear the waves, but it's one of those times when I feel peaceful. I don't find that in Demon World very often."

"What's the hardest thing you've lived through?"

Hiei frowned, "Being abandoned by my mother."

Kurama nodded and Hiei could see the compassion on his face. "Would you share that story with us please?"

Hiei was inclined to glare at him, sneer at the thought of it, but he kept himself expressionless. This was dangerous territory the Fox was stepping on, he had to know he wasn't going to get a good thing from this, he knew he was going to get aggressive and angry thinking about it, snappy, defensive, "She threw me out like I was trash and left me to die."

"Were you adopted? Did you have a family?"

"Briefly, but they weren't a true family. They just wanted this stone I had, and they were afraid of me as soon as I could walk. I knew they didn't want me around, so I left."

"How did that affect your personality later in life?"

"It made me dangerous to be around, but it also made me quiet. I didn't trust anyone, or their intentions, and when I did, it seemed like I was always betrayed."

He saw Kurama wince and drop his head. "When did that change?"

"It changed when I met this young human kid," Hiei wanted to roll his eyes, "He was so, so set on the fact that I was his friend that I couldn't shake him off. No matter what I did, how I threatened him, he would see it for what it was and dismiss it and throw his arm around me like I was the safest person in the world to be around when I really wasn't. He made me feel like I had someone there, and I could kind of rely on him, and eventually we grew into a great friendship. I trust him with my life and he trusts me with his."

"With the changes you've seen in Human World, do you think you would still be here saving humans if you grew up now rather than before?"

"No. Now the humans see us, and think we're evil, they think we're killing machines. Some of us are, but for someone who saves humans, it's like a slap across the face."

"Thank you Hiei, I just need one more thing from you, please say 'The discrimination needs to end. I may not be human, but I'm a person, and I deserve my rights.'"

Hiei looked directly at the camera, even focused the Jagan on it, and spoke with a firm voice, "The discrimination needs to end. I may not be human, but I'm a person, and I deserve my rights."

Kurama nodded and stopped the recording. He sighed when it was off and smiled weakly, "Thank you Hiei. I know that was difficult to talk about. I want to be able to show human characteristics, a whole range of emotions, so I needed you to show growth, which means you had to start from somewhere low."

"Hn."

"If you don't want me to use it, I won't. I could cut out the initial question and go to the question about if you had family."

"Use what you want, Fox."

Kurama nodded. "Thank you. Could you send in Riva?"

"Yeah." Hiei stood and left the room, "Riva! You're up."

Riva looked over at him and smiled, "Done already?"

"Yeah."

"Alright. I'll try not to take too long so you can get some sleep."

"Alright."

Riva slipped by him into the dark room and as the door swung shut, he heard Kurama going over the instructions.


	8. Interview with a Detective

Thanks for being such a consistent reader and reviewer Jessica! You're amazing! This chapter probably has the most Yusuke in it, but we do get to see Yukina and Kuwabara just a little in the next part of the story, so don't worry, we didn't just erase them from our story, after all, Hiei was totally talking about Yusuke, so yeah, he's here XD Finally a Yusuke Chapter!

We set up the story so that Yusuke and Yukina were already tagged before the story started, and Kurama avoided it so his mother wouldn't know what he was, and Hiei didn't know about it. That's why there hasn't really been much about them. Plus, we typically write romances, so this is more focused on Kurama and Hiei who have new love interests than cannon romances.

If anyone else reading has questions, feel free to drop them in a review or a PM and I'll be happy to answer them or ask ArmordaRay if they were more her parts of the story. 33 Love you guys, thanks for reading!

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"Fox!" Kurama woke up with a start and sat bolt upright at the panic in Hiei's voice. "Fox, Riva's gone."

"What?" Kurama looked over his shoulder for his clock, and eventually spied it was far too early in the morning to worry about whatever the hell Hiei was complaining about. He lay back down in his fluffy bed and curled his arms around a pillow, pulling it close and burying his face in it.

"Riva's gone Fox." Hiei crawled onto the bed.

"Mm, I'm sure she's just hiding." Even Kurama knew that was a weak argument.

"I can't find her, I've looked."

"Did you look under the bed?" He curled away from Hiei

"Fox."

"Hiei, look, you don't sound tired, so just, don't go to sleep."

"But she's missing Fox."

"Maybe she went home. I'm sure if you wait, she'll turn up before too long."

"Hn." Hiei settled down on the bed, "I'm worried."

"Then keep looking for her. I don't care Hiei, I just need my sleep." He scooted closer to the little fire demon expecting his warm friend to help lull him back to sleep after waking him up like that.

Hiei rested a hand on his blanket and warmed it up.

Kurama sighed in delight and relaxed. His muscles ached from the most recent transformation back into Shuichi, but Kurama felt like he was getting more control over his transformations finally. It was still difficult, but it wasn't impossible now.

"Go to sleep Fox."

"I will. You should go check the jail. Maybe she was just in a barrier."

"Maybe."

Kurama fell back to sleep.

Yusuke banged loudly on the door. Kurama opened it with a wide smile and welcomed the human turned demon into his home with a tight hug. "Mm, Yusuke, it's good to see you. Thank you for doing this." The bear hug turned into a competition of back-patting.

Kurama let Yusuke win and led him towards the bathroom. "Damn it's good to see you again. I've missed you Yusuke."

"I've missed you man." Yusuke grinned.

"Now don't freak out, but I'm going to put makeup on you."

"Why?" Yusuke frowned.

"Well, eyes and facial features don't come out well on a camera without it. Don't worry, I'm not going to leave it on you forever. It's not going to be a lot either, just enough to make you look like you actually have eyes."

"Fine, but make it quick, Foxy boy."

Kurama nodded. They caught up as Kurama applied the makeup and once Kurama had him in front of the camera, he knew he was going to pay for what he did to him eventually. Just not immediately. Not until he released the footage. It wasn't obvious that he was wearing makeup, but he looked different enough to anyone who really knew Yusuke that they would be able to tell.

"Alright Yusuke, I want you to tell me stories okay?" After the first two interviews, Hiei and Riva, he'd realized he had to explain that to them. He waited for Yusuke to agree, or admit he understood what he meant.

"Alright."

"When I turn on the camera to record, I want you to state your name, age, and where you belong in Demon World, so Tourin. Once you do that, I'm going start asking you questions and I'd appreciate it if you could restate the question in your answer, and explain yourself, give a story if you have one. If I wave my hand, it's because I want you to think of something else to add. The goal here is to show humans that not all demons are bad. You have a unique experience being a human first, so draw on that."

"Alright, let's do this." Yusuke grinned.

Kurama nodded and started the camera rolling. He nodded to Yusuke to begin.

"My name is Yusuke Urameshi, I'm 24, and in Demon World I'm from Tourin, but I've always lived in Human World, right here in Japan."

"Why did you stay in Human World?"

"I grew up in Human World and I'm hoping to start a family with my wife."

Kurama waved his hand at him.

"I married her a few years ago. She's a human and we've always been really close, I don't know what I'd do without her." Yusuke grinned sheepishly.

Kurama realized that this was going to be a difficult interview. Yusuke was great for the camera, but he didn't know how to take direction well. This was going to require a lot of editing to make it as smooth as Hiei's. "How did you become a demon?"

"I became a demon because of some recessive gene. It finally woke up and boom, I was a demon. A long time ago a family member got intimate with a demon and his genes carried down this far."

"How did the change affect you?"

"I became a lot stronger, my hair grew really long, and I gained a few cool powers from it, like, I'm basically immortal."

"Did it change you emotionally? Do you feel any more violent or anything because you're a demon now?"

Yusuke shook his head, "No, the only thing it changed is my hormones seem a little different, like I might have more testosterone or something."

"Stories, Yusuke. Stories."

"Are you sure I'm right for this?"

Kurama nodded, "Yusuke, you're a charismatic, influential, previously human, demon lord. You're perfect. Just, tell me your story."

"Just, the whole thing?"

"Yeah."

Yusuke sighed, "Alright, I'll try, want to ask the questions again?"

"No, I'll just edit it."

"Uh, want to tell me what the questions were?" Yusuke grinned.

"Why did you come to Human World, but for you, why did you stay when you became a demon. Start there."

"Alright. I've lived in Human World, Japan my whole life, but in Demon World I'd be from Tourin. I stayed when I became a demon because of a girl. She's the love of my life and my wife, and I had friends who I couldn't leave, and Demon World is only fun for so long. After a while you kind of miss the simple stuff here in Human World, like pancakes and waffles."

"How did you become a demon?"

"Well," He nodded, "A long time ago one of my relatives got intimate with a demon and had a kid, but it turned out human. My family has a recessive gene that got carried down to me, and it turned me into a demon."

"No, Yusuke, I need you to tell me the story about Sensui. Tell me about when you learned you were a demon, and how you felt about it. What changed. Assure your audience that you're not some monster just because your biology changed."

Yusuke sighed and rubbed his neck, "Alright, I don't think I'm cut out for this though, Fox."

Kurama stopped recording and took it off the tripod. He poked through the menu and walked over to Yusuke. He found Hiei's recording, and the earmarked part for his answer about Human World. "I asked Hiei when he changed personally, like, what made his life better. I need to show you that." He held out the camera to him. "Press play."

Yusuke clicked play.

Hiei appeared on the screen. _"It changed when I met this young human kid. He was so, so set on the fact that I was his friend that I couldn't shake him off. No matter what I did, how I threatened him, he would see it for what it was and dismiss it and throw his arm around me like I was the safest person in the world to be around when I really wasn't. He made me feel like I had someone there, and I could kind of rely on him, and eventually we grew into a great friendship. I trust him with my life and he trusts me with his."_

"Aw did the shrimp really say this?"

"You see him saying it Yusuke. Yes, he did. This is not edited."

"I got to go give him a hug when I see him." Yusuke chuckled.

"Just, tell me your story Yusuke. I want you to give a voice to your experiences. I don't care if you don't even answer the question. I'm trying to either make a documentary or a commercial which will connect with people. Okay?"

"Yeah." Yusuke nodded.

Kurama went back to the tripod and put it back on. He hit record, then nodded.

Yusuke looked at the camera and shifted a little before he took a deep breath and nodded, "My name is Yusuke Urameshi, in Demon World I'm from Tourin, but I've lived here in Human World, specifically Japan my whole life. I'm 24 years old. As a human kid everyone labeled me as a delinquent and a general punk to the public and I found it really hard to fit in. I liked to fight to solve problems but that's not really how you're supposed to do it as a human and I had a lot of people giving me a hard time about it. It took some time before some fancy genes of mine kicked in and I was turned into a demon, but by then I'd be fighting a lot of demons as a human. It really seemed like the only way to handle stuff. With demons, they really don't care if you throw a punch or not, it's easy, you fight or talk it out. One way or another it'll get sorted out. When people didn't get pissed when I threw punches I started to realize I was being accepted because that was how it worked there. They saw me for what I was, a fighter. It took some time and a few times getting my butt kicked before I realized that I could talk things out too, so I did, and I realized I really didn't need to fight that often."

Kurama held up his hand, "Hold on Yusuke, try just, speaking from the cuff. Stop answering the question, just talk. Tell Human World what you want to say."

Yusuke looked at the camera and shifted a little before he took a deep breath and nodded, "Hey, the name's Urameshi, and I was the last Spirit Detective protecting all your asses from world annihilation. I've saved the world from being turned into mindless slaves, everyone dying or being ruled by a tyrant as a world, and becoming a food mill for demons. I also saved demons though. It turns out a lot of our beliefs about demons come from them being brainwashed into attacking us. It actually drove the previous Spirit Detective crazy when he realized humans can be just as bad as demons, if not worse. For me, demons have really saved me from ending up in jail all my life. I wasn't going anywhere. I was going to drop out of middle school once I was old enough, join the Yakuza, and probably die in a fight. Instead, I died saving a kid, and fighting demons gave me a second chance at life. When I fought I had a lot of people giving me a hard time about it. As a human kid everyone labeled me as a delinquent and a general punk to the public and I found it really hard to fit in. I liked to fight to solve problems but that's not really how you're supposed to do it as a human. Today, people blame my ancestors, the latent Mazaku gene for my behavior as a kid, saying I was always a demon and that's why I was a delinquent, but that wasn't it. It's just the only way I could get people to listen, and I couldn't explain myself without my fists. When I met my demon friends, when I became a Spirit Detective, they understood. I could throw a punch to say Hi, and watching them, I learned how to talk it out too. I couldn't always punch my problems into the ground. Most of them were stronger than me when I first met them. I had to use my head, something school never made me do. When people didn't get pissed when I threw punches I started to realize I was being accepted because that was how it worked there. They saw me for what I was, a fighter. It took some time and a few times getting my butt kicked before I learned how to talk things out, but I did it by watching demons."

He looked up a little at Kurama, and cracked a grin, "I suppose you could say without demons in Human World, I'd still be a lost delinquent. Instead, I'm your savior."

He looked back down at the camera again, "Today, I run a shop that solves paranormal crime, and I've got the guns to back up any human who needs my help with a demon. Most of the 'demon' crime I get is actually caused by humans. I haven't had a case yet of a demon causing problems in Human World since I stopped people from brainwashing low-level demons. We are more of a threat to ourselves, than we've ever been to one another, and that goes for all of us. The witch hunt going on for demons in Human World is more likely to get humans killed, or make them murderers, than it is to prevent anything. Demons have to answer to me if they break the rules, and they know it. That's enough to stop anyone who's not my friend from breaking them, and those who are my friends? They help enforce the rules."

"Thanks Yusuke. I just need one more thing from you, please say 'The discrimination needs to end. I may not be human, but I'm a person, and I deserve my rights.'"

"The discrimination needs to end. I may not be human, but I'm a person, and I deserve my rights."

Kurama turned off the camera. "And you said you didn't think you'd be good at this," Kurama teased him.

"Ah, yeah well."

"You're naturally charismatic Yusuke. I just needed to give you less of a leash." Kurama turned on the lights and headed for the door.


	9. Repercussions

Thank you so much Jessica 33 You have no idea how happy that review made me! [I am so giving you two chapters for tomorrow XD(I can be bribed)]

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"So, you've done Hiei and who else?"

"You, Riva, Hiei, and I have Yukina and Kuwabara coming over later today. I want Kuwabara to show that it really is fine being around demons as a human, and that humans support this too."

"Awesome man."

"At some point I'm going to get Kiba in here too, but I'm not sure when. He's supposed to just drop by when I'm home when he gets a break. Then I've also put out a request through the Demon Embassy."

"Nice." Yusuke grinned, "This is going to be great." Yusuke laughed and put his hand behind his neck rubbing it, "I guess that means Yukina's turned up after all. I told Kuwabara she would."

"What?" Kurama frowned. "Turned up?"

"Yeah, Yukina was missing for a little while."

"She was? When was this?" Kurama demanded. He felt his heart race at the news.

"Yesterday."

" _Yesterday!_ " Kurama pulled out his phone and punched a number, holding it up to his ear. "Why didn't you tell me this _yesterday_?"

"Because I didn't think it was that big of a deal, Yukina is a grown woman."

"She's a grown woman but she's also a koorime, Yusuke. She has to be protected. When was she last seen?"

"Yesterday." Yusuke nodded.

Kurama sighed heavily and shook his head. "When was the last time Kuwabara saw her?"

"Sometime yesterday morning."

"What?" The phone was answered.

"Hiei, did you find Riva?" Kurama demanded, pacing.

"No." Hiei sighed.

"Yukina's missing too."

"What!" He could hear Hiei reeling in a yelp, "I need details Fox!"

"I don't have any! I just found out myself. Apparently, she didn't come home last night. I'm talking to Yusuke."

"Fuck! I need to find her. God dammit, I knew that oaf wasn't cut out for protecting her!"

"I'll take the north side, you take the south?"

"Fine!" Hiei hung up.

"If you want to help, call Kuwabara and get specifics, then call us with them." Kurama was already putting his shoes on.

"Alright." Yusuke nodded, "Better hurry up and help Hiei before he gets his panties in a twist."

"If his panties get twisted, they have every right to be. You two should know better than to leave us in the dark for an entire day." Kurama scolded and left in a flash.

After sweeping the city, Hiei and Kurama convened at Kurama's. "Nothing." Kurama stated when he set foot inside. "I even searched inside with plants I felt in buildings. I couldn't find her. Please tell me you had better luck," He spied Hiei brooding in the corner of his room glaring out the window and knew he hadn't.

"No." Hiei snapped.

Kurama sighed, "I'm sorry Hiei."

"Save it, Fox. We need to find her."

"Do you want to trade? You take the north and I'll take the south?"

"Yeah."

"I'll give Kiba a call as well, see if maybe something happened at the station." Kurama left again. He punched in Kiba's number when he got to his first block he was going to walk searching with his energy. He held it to his ear as it rang.

"Hello, this is Dr. Kiba."

"Kiba, I need to know if an ice apparition has been through the station within the past forty-eight hours."

"Uh." He heard Kiba pause, "Give me a moment, let me think." There was silence, "No, no I haven't."

"Alright. Where's Riva?"

"I don't know." Kiba sighed.

Kurama growled, "Kiba, Hiei needs Riva, you know that. He couldn't find her."

"I wasn't made aware of her missing, I just noticed she hasn't been at work."

Kurama sighed too, "Damn it. So, we have two demons missing. Both with a penchant for getting abused."

"I wish I could help, but I'm pretty busy at the moment."

"Could you see if the cops would be willing to put out a missing person's report for Riva?"

"Yeah, give me a couple minutes and I'll call you back."

"Alright. If it drops, just wait for me to call you back. I'm sweeping the town for them."

"Can do."

Kurama hung up and continued his search.

When he finished the south side and was back at his house again, and saw that Hiei also had no success, he began to feel heavy. "Did you check Demon World?" Kurama asked softly.

"No, but I will."

"If they're in Demon World, they won't be masked."

"Right, I'm going to go now." Hiei nodded.

Kurama nodded back. Hiei disappeared.


	10. Family Feud

Hiei jumped when his phone rang in his pocket. He grabbed it and answered it quickly, "Hello?"

"They came home."

"Where, where are they? Genkai's?"

"Kuwabara's."

"I'm going now." Hiei hung up and bolted. Yukina had to be safe, and he really wanted the oaf's head for letting this happen. As he passed through the nearest portal, he realized Kurama hadn't said "Yukina" was home, but "They" were home, both of them. Why had they been together? Sure, they both disappeared at the same time, but the two didn't even talk to one another. Why were they both gone and why did they come back together?

When Hiei landed in Kuwabara's yard, he could sense Yukina's strong energy, and immediately knew she was trying to heal someone, but who? He hadn't been there to beat up Kuwabara yet. Was she injured? That spurred him all the way into the living room where he saw Riva laying prone on the couch in just her tank top. She had a black scrawl on her upper chest down along the middle of it between her breasts. It was welted and an angry red. Yukina was trying to heal it. There were also bloody bandages strewn on the coffee table.

Hiei came over quickly, "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine Hiei, please, get back," Yukina demanded.

"Is Riva okay?"

"I don't know Hiei," Yukina replied stiffly. "I'm trying to fix her, but every ounce of my energy that goes by that tattoo gets drained."

Hiei stepped closer to look at it, "Is it a sutra?"

Yukina nodded shakily. "Oh, what did they do to her?" she whined, her arms trembling.

"What if we cut it? Break her skin, would it break the sutra?"

"It might, I don't know. Tattoos are very deep thought, it would have to be a deep cut. She might bleed out."

"Would you say it's worth a try?" Hiei rested his hand on his hilt. He didn't want to hurt her, but if it meant saving her life or potentially his by giving her a cut, he'd do it.

"No. I can heal most of her injuries. You'd have to cut off too much of her skin to make it useful." Yukina pushed up her shirt and looked up at him. The sutra was so big, that it traveled all the way down to her navel.

"Could I just cut it down the middle? A line? Not cut it off?"

"You know how sutras work Hiei. If the skin knit back together with the two lines touching and just a thin part separating it, you could change the spell and make it worse."

"What if we removed a patch of it, like the main part of it?"

"Hiei! I can't let you do that now give it up!" The room chilled.

"I want to help her too! She's helping me!"

"You can't help her!"

Hiei stared at her in bewilderment.

Yukina sighed and shook her head. "Hiei, I need to focus. Get Kurama over here to examine the sutra."

"Fine." Hiei stomped off and grabbed his phone from his pocket, punching in Kurama's number, "Fox."

"Yeah?"

"We need you here, now."

"Alright." Kurama hung up.

When Hiei turned around, he saw Kuwabara on the porch looking out at him. He looked like he'd been run over by a truck. His face was haggard, eyes sunken, his hair was shaggy and unkempt, and his clothes were all messed up, twisted like he'd slept in them and pulled out of shape. He had blood splattered across his clothes too.

Hiei still wanted to throw him across the yard though.

"Hiei, I'm sorry."

"You fucking bastard! Why didn't you tell me or Kurama!" Hiei drew his sword.

Kuwabara dropped his head.

"Huh? I have a jagan eye!"

"I told Yusuke to tell you."

"Well he didn't!" Hiei seethed.

"A lot of good it did! Even with that eye of yours you couldn't find her!" When Kuwabara looked up, he had tears streaming down his eyes.

"But maybe I could have if it was within hours of it happening! Don't you know what she is Kuwabara!"

"I thought she was at work."

"All night!"

"Yes!"

"You have to realize she's a koorime and people want her! They want to enslave her, and they want to use her to get rich!"

"She told me she was going to a conference on new technologies to detect demons, and it wasn't until she didn't check in that I knew something was wrong."

"You're such a fool!" Hiei shouted at him.

"I don't know when she was taken Hiei, but I called Yusuke to tell you guys about it around eleven when she didn't call to say goodnight, then I headed over to where she was supposed to be staying and started searching."

"You should have just called Kurama!"

"Obviously! Just-" Kuwabara sighed and sat down on the porch with his feet on the steps. "Hiei, Riva-" his throat choked, and he dropped his head into his hands.

"What!" Hiei barked.

"Yukina said, when they got here, that Riva saved her. She said they used her as a-a control and Riva as an experiment because Riva saved her."

"And now Riva is hurt! And Yukina could've been hurt!" Hiei wanted to scream in frustration.

"And now," Kuwabara swallowed and looked up. "All because I didn't go with her. I should have gone with her."

"Yes, you should have!" Hiei yelled loudly.

"Hiei!" Kurama snapped. "This isn't helping!"

"He's pissing me off!"

"Can't you just be grateful that they're back rather than attacking Kuwabara for something that could have happened to any of us!"

Hiei growled but he didn't sheath his sword.

"You couldn't find her, and neither could I. Kuwabara couldn't find her. Yusuke couldn't find her. Fuck, Botan and Koenma couldn't find her!"

"Maybe I could have if this stupid oaf had called you instead of the Detective!"

"No, you couldn't have!"

"You don't know that Fox!"

"Yes, I do! You started searching for Riva the night she disappeared, and you couldn't find her. They were together!"

"Whatever you say isn't going to calm me down Fox!" Hiei barked.

Kurama drew his whip and swiped it at Hiei.

"This isn't between us Fox! Fix Riva, that's why you're here!" Hiei blocked it.

Kurama continued his attacks anyway. "Kuwabara is in no condition to knock you off your high horse, so I'll do the honors."

Hiei bolted away instead of humoring the Fox, taking a seat on the roof of house, "Fix Riva."

Kurama glared at him. "If I hear you out here picking a fight with Kuwabara, I'm coming back to kick your ass." He turned and strolled past Kuwabara going inside.

Hiei really wanted to punch Kuwabara and run, but he wasn't sure if Kurama would let him get that close, so he stayed put. He would get his revenge later.

Kurama came outside nearly an hour later deep in thought. He sat down next to Kuwabara on the porch.

Hiei hopped down, "Well?"

"I don't know. She's-" Kurama frowned. "It's weird. Yukina took pictures of her injuries when she first got her home, and it looks like she's been through the wringer, but I can't figure out why she's unconscious right now."

"Hn."

"I think she needs a human to remove the tattoo."

"Kuwabara."

"I can't remove tattoos. They have a tool for that."

"Let's do it then."

"We can't just wheel in an unconscious woman to a tattoo removal parlor and ask them to get rid of it." Kurama replied stiffly.

"Well, let's wake her up and then do it."

"I don't know why she's unconscious. I can't wake her up." Kurama paraphrased.

"Hn."

"On top of that, she is still bleeding internally from several of her injuries. I've given her some plants to help keep the blood out of her stomach and from drowning her lungs, but she's going to have bruising for a while."

"This is bad." Hiei sighed.

Kurama nodded. "I need to figure out a way to check on her brain, make sure she doesn't have too much pressure causing this situation or something like that."

Hiei sat down heavily and rested his chin in his hand. He wasn't sure what to do.

"I can't just remove the tattoo because of the scarring though. Right now, her skin is having an allergic reaction to the symbols, and if we just color them in, the intent and energy of the sutra will still be there. if we just remove the skin, we would have to do it multiple times to get down far enough or cut off too deep in her body for her to heal well unless we healed as we went, in which case, the intent would cause an allergic reaction until we finished, thus scarring her again."

"Hn."

"What the humans will do is saturate the ink with super concentrated light, and the ink will break up rather than setting with her skin. Her blood will then be able to remove it."

Hiei sighed heavily.

"You don't think you could make an intense enough light for that, do you Hiei?"

"Not without burning her." Hiei shook his head, "I haven't tried to make bright lights before, I'd have to practice."

"I'll ask around, see if I can convince a tattoo remover to hear me out." Kurama stood up.

"Alright."

"Until then, she needs to be monitored closely. I just wish we had a tank. If we popped her in one of those, we could stop the internal bleeding and it might remove the ink from her skin on its own."

"Hn." Hiei sighed, "It'd probably take too long to get her to Mukuro's."

"Consider it. That might be our only choice."

"Alright."

Kurama nodded. "I need to go make some calls."

Hiei nodded too.

Kurama left.

Kuwabara went inside leaving the door open for Hiei to come in as well. Hiei took his time coming in, but eventually he settled near where Riva was and stayed quiet.

Riva now had a mask over her nose and mouth which connected to a small plant pinned to her tank top which was laced together with a vine, having been cut down the middle. It rested open enough to reveal plant leaves laying against her skin underneath it, covering the tattoo.

Hiei still wanted to beat Kuwabara to a pulp, but if he wanted anything to get done, he was going to have to wait until after she was okay. He could still feel the frustration in his bones as he sat and watched her, unable to help.

Yukina was asleep curled up on the chair, and Kuwabara put a blanket over her. He tucked her in and then turned on Hiei, staring at him.

"I still want to fight you."

"You know Hiei, if I didn't know you were her brother, I'd find it weird how attached you are to her."

Hiei stiffened and grabbed the hilt of his sword, glaring, "Shut up."

Kuwabara sighed, "She's asleep. Don't worry."

"Still."

Kuwabara glanced over his shoulder at him, then pointed to the kitchen.

"What?"

Kuwabara sighed again and shook his head, exhausted. He went through the door to the kitchen leaving Hiei in the living room alone with the two sleeping girls.

Hiei let him go. He was going to keep them safe.

After a few minutes Kuwabara poked his head back into the living room. "Hiei, just come here for a minute. We need to talk about this."

Hiei sighed and got up, making his way into the kitchen, tense. He kept a hand on the hilt of his sword, glaring.

"I figured it out when you got that chip in your arm."

"How?"

"Well, I didn't realize how important it was at the time, but when Yukina got her chip, she overheated."

"Hn."

"You froze."

Hiei crossed his arms over his chest.

"I don't know why you haven't told her, but I expect it's got some stupid reason behind it."

"Because maybe I don't want that on my shoulders, maybe I want to keep her safe." He nearly seethed.

"Uh huh, because clearly keeping her in the dark keeps her perfectly safe."

"It does. My enemies won't go after her."

"Yeah, but, Hiei, your enemies aren't the biggest problem here. If the worst thing that happens is I have another person to watch out for, then it's not worth keeping her in the dark, if she is."

"No, you won't tell her."

Kuwabara crossed his arms over his chest. "Hiei, she might already know."

"So, you will not tell her, and I will not tell her."

"Hiei, we both know you froze."

"Shut up, I don't need this from you after what you let happen."

"This wasn't just my fault!"

Hiei growled, "The only reason I'm not throwing you across the room is because Kurama would kick my ass."

Kuwabara glared at him. "Look, I just wanted to warn you that Yukina might know who you are to her, and if she does, and you're not telling her, then that's going to be bad on you."

"You don't think I've thought of that?"

"It's not like we're going to tell the whole god damn universe that you're her brother."

"I still don't like it, so be quiet about it."

Kuwabara sighed and shook his head. "Fine, whatever. I don't give a shit if you ruin your relationship with her. Obviously, you've got it covered."

"Hn."

Kuwabara headed for the exit. "Oh, and Hiei, until you decide to admit you're part of this family, you're not invited to family functions."

Hiei followed him, "You really think that's going to stop me?"

Kuwabara ignored him and continued through the living room towards his bedroom.

"What is that even supposed to mean?" Hiei huffed at him.

"Ask your friend," Kuwabara shut the door of his bedroom in Hiei's face.

Hiei scoffed and returned to the living room. He took a seat.


	11. Politically Charged

"Alright Kiba, I think I'm ready for you to begin. Are you ready? Do you know what you're saying, or do you want me to go over it with you again?"

"Let's go over it one more time." Kiba smiled sheepishly.

"You're here to talk about Riva, and what happened to her. Yukina and Riva were kidnapped by human doctors, they experimented on her, and Yukina, a demon ambassador, was kept as a control group. They tried to kill her with things that would kill humans. Poisons, gunshots, acid, burns, drowning, suffocation, lack of sleep, lack of water, whatever technical names those things have. I need you to advocate for Riva since she's unconscious, tell what happened to her, her story."

"Right."

"Don't forget to add your credentials, and it has to be short." Kurama pressed record and nodded towards Kiba.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Kiba. I have a medical degree from the Tokyo Medical School. Yesterday, I had a patient who truly shocked me. She was poisoned, shot, burned with acid and fire, showed signs of asphyxiation, and was dehydrated. I had more causes of death than I did causes of life, but they didn't kill her. She was kept alive. They kept her alive, so they could study the effects of all these things on her body like some child experimenting with a frog. This wasn't the work of demons, this was the work of humans. Human medical professionals. Medical professionals sworn to the Hippocratic oath not to cause harm, who won't lose their licenses for torturing, maiming, and putting this young woman into a coma, and why? Because she's a demon." Kiba paused, letting the silence egg on, staring into the lens.

Kurama nodded, letting the camera roll for another couple seconds before turning off the recording. "That was perfect Kiba."

Kiba smiled, "Good. People need to hear it."

"They do, and I have the money to make them."

Kiba sighed, "If anyone can do it, it's you."

"I need you to do another couple interviews for me before I lose you to your job again. I need you to share more about Riva, give me details about her personality, her life, what she enjoyed. I have an opening interview for her, but I need people talking about her."

"I'll share what I know. I wasn't close to her, she was a janitor."

"Did she have someone closer to her?" Kurama asked as he labeled the last file properly.

"I don't know."

"Ask around when you go back to work, will you? I need to know if she's got anyone closer to her. I need to know if anyone is willing to talk about her for me too."

"Alright." Kiba nodded.

Kurama smiled, "Thank you Kiba."

"Of course. It's, terrible what they did to her."

"I think it's worse that they were going to do it to a demon ambassador without qualms."

Kiba shook his head, "It's insane."

"It really is. Alright, do you have an idea of what you're going to say?" Kurama's hand hovered over the record button.

"Not entirely. She was bright, cheerful. Gave out smiles, but I only kind of knew her."

"Well, pretend you knew her as a friend. From what I've seen, you're the only one she's got."

"Alright, I'll try. So just, things about her?"

"Stories about her if you can, short stories, and close with the reminder that she's in a coma and probably won't make it. I'd say one short story per skit, so we can break it up into several memorial commercials. Bring up the sutra the doctors put on her that's keeping her energy from making her better."

Kiba sighed, "Alright."

Kurama hit record and nodded.

Kiba began, "Riva was probably one of the happiest people I knew. Despite being a janitor for a police department that hated her, she was always bright and cheery and offering a hand when she could. I don't remember a time she didn't offer to help someone, or me. Occasionally I'd have to work through my lunch and she'd leave me snacks to get through the rest of the day. She was kind and she had compassion for the people around her. I always felt lighter when she was smiling. Now, Riva can't smile, or help anyone. Riva can't even help herself. She is comatose, thanks to medical professionals who decided to tattoo a sutra on her to keep her energy from healing her. With the damage they've done, I probably won't be able to see Riva smile again or watch her help someone. Why did they do this? Because she's a demon and they wanted to test the new demon controlling technology. It's a holocaust device."

Kurama nodded and waited a few more seconds before turning off the camera again.

"By the end of this I'm going to need a drink or two."

Kurama chuckled. "I'd be happy to provide."

"Thank you." Kiba chuckled too.

"Do you mind doing one more recording? I'd like to have just some general knowledge clips to share with people if I need to fill things in."

"Yeah." Kiba nodded, "It's fine."

"Alright. I'll just ask questions and you answer them. I'll think of them as we go."

"Alright." Kiba nodded.

Kurama hit record. "What are the main differences between human biology and demon biology?"

"The differences between human biology and demon biology differ depending on the type of demon. The main difference tends to be that demons have energy and don't rely as heavily on their biological systems as humans do. That doesn't mean they never have to eat or drink, it just means they sometimes have to do it less often. Same goes for sleep, most demons can be awake for several days at a time, and the strongest for a month or so. If you take a demon's energy away, it can kill them. If you take away a human's energy, they will live because they don't rely on it like demons do. Humans rely on biology not energy. There can be a human without spirit energy and it will live off of its life energy, if you take a demon's demonic energy away, it can't necessarily live off of its life energy even though it has it."

"Do demons feel emotions?"

"Demons do feel emotions. Demons usually have more intense and chaotic emotions than humans, but they are capable of all emotional spectrums. They can feel happiness, sadness, guilt, anger, love, every emotion a human is capable of feeling."

"And how do you know that?"

"I'm a special kind of demon called an empath. We sense emotions from other people."

"What rights do demons have in Demon World?"

"Demons don't have the same concept of 'rights' as humans do, but if I were to tell you what 'rights' they have it's to life and anything else. There is little law in Demon World."

"So, what do demons do in order to stop the whole world from being chaos?"

"Mm, demons generally fight to keep the world from being complete chaos, but some may argue Demon World is chaos."

"What keeps them from invading Human World and killing everyone?"

"Well, a person keeps other demons from invading Human World. His name is Enki. He's the King of Demon World, as he's the strongest demon. To put it simply, if anyone defied Enki's laws or did something he didn't like, he'd punish them, and no one can stop him."

"Would a human army ever be able to stand up to a strong demon?"

"It would depend on the strength of the human army, their weapons, their tactics, and the type of demon."

"If a nuclear bomb was shot off in Demon World, would it have the same effect as it would here in Human World of annihilation?"

"Well, probably. But you'd have demons who'd make barriers with their energy to block it, like they would block some of the stronger attacks."

"So, given the hypothetical situation of demons invading Human World today in order to overthrow the government, what's the real concern for humans?"

"The real concern for humans is angering a demon who isn't fond of humans to begin with."

"Walk me through that hypothetical thought. Let's say a strong demon invades Human World and tries to overthrow the government by wiping out their army single-handedly. They arrive in Human World, what happens next? What's the response?"

"Enki would probably come and drag them back into Demon World, or the border patrol, run by Mukuro, would come and save the humans and try to push the demon back into Demon World. Or Yusuke, the most recent Spirit Detective would either push them back into Demon World, turn them over to Koenma for punishment, or kill them."

"So Human World is well protected on three fronts."

"Yes. I'd also like to mention that a demon invading Human World to overthrow it is really unlikely at this point. Demons have a lot of peace compared to the former era before the barrier was taken down. Not only are they no longer being brainwashed to be extremely aggressive towards humans, but they have more free reign to move about their own territory and create territories within Enki's lands than they've had in the past. With the tournament ruler system, it's even less likely because they have an outlet to show how strong they are and rank themselves without a feudal power grab through land. Enki had no land before he became ruler of all Demon World. He just won the tournament. He actually never even claimed more territory than about a city block for a home base, and that was given to him peacefully. All in all, there's no reason for an egocentric people like demons to invade and try to conquer something so exterior as Human World."

"Do any particular species of demons pose an immediate health threat to humans by being in Human World?"

"No. Demon diseases and human diseases are very different. Demon diseases tend to be more energy related, human diseases more biological. They do share some diseases, but they are few and far between and very rare, and there's only one that's dangerous and it's the rarest. There's only ever been a case or two of it."

"What is the best analogy you could give for how humans should view demons?"

Kiba considered it, "View them as humans. They didn't come here to be treated differently."

"Can you think of anything else?"

Kiba smiled softly but shook his head, "No."

"Alright, we'll call that good then." Kurama turned off the recorder. "How about we go get that drink."

"That sounds good." Kiba stood and stretched. He was still in his white lab coat, and Kurama realized he'd never seen him out of it.

"You don't have to go back to work tonight, do you?" Kurama asked as he led him to the kitchen. He was careful to keep Kiba just half a step behind him.

"I could go back, but I need some sleep."

"Would you like me to walk you home after you get drunk or roll you into a bed?"

Kiba laughed, "Either works."

"Well if you don't tell me where you live one of them doesn't work at all," Kurama teased as he pulled bottles out of the liquor cabinet.

He chuckled.

Kurama pulled out a couple of glasses and poured two different colored mixes into two different glasses. One was traditional human alcohol with a little bit of this and that to make it more alcoholic, while the other was a mix of human and demon alcohols. He turned around and offered both glasses to Kiba. "Do you want orange, or purple?" Kurama asked leaning his head towards the purple one when he suggested it.

"Hmm, orange hardly goes with your hair."

"Purple hardly goes with my hair either," Kurama held out the orange one anyway.

"I suppose that's true." Kiba took the orange one, "So, what is this?" He swished it about and sniffed it.

"It is alcohol, with more alcohol, mixed with a third alcohol." Kurama replied like he was reading a fancy wine list.

"I meant what types." Kiba set his glass aside and started unbuttoning his lab coat.

"The alcoholic types." Kurama sipped his before setting it aside.

"Ah, avoiding the question, are we?" Kiba set the coat aside and leaned against the counter, sipping his drink.

Kurama's curiosity got the better of him and he leaned ever so slightly to the side, so he could get a better view of the sexy man he was trying to get drunk in his kitchen. He felt like a pervert. Still, he wasn't going to let that stop him cold. He just was going to try to stop himself from being obvious about his emotions.

"So, Kurama."

"Hm?" He asked softly, trying to pretend he'd been daydreaming of someone rather than staring at Kiba's exposed body. He was wearing scrubs underneath the lab coat, so he really couldn't see anything too much extra, but the elastic that held his pants up gave no quarters for lies about his waist, aside from being under a loose shirt.

"You've been wanting to have me out of work, so, what do you want me out of work for? I finally have a night off."

That made him feel even more uncomfortable because the wording of it went straight to his groin. Oh, he'd been wanting to have him alright. Kurama drew a breath and tried to think of some excuse. He shrugged as sluggishly as he could and drank about half his drink down with a single chug pretending he was just taking a very long sip rather than planning on testing his need for air. He couldn't tear his eyes away from Kiba's green jewels, so it wasn't a very effective tactic.

"Well?"

He needed to change subjects, and fast. "Have you ever wondered what it would be like to _not_ feel someone's emotions?" Maybe he could get Kiba inebriated enough he would forget how horny Kurama had been during their night together.

"Yes."

"You've barely touched your drink." In fact, Kurama hadn't seen him touch it at all, and he'd been paying close attention to Kiba's movements. He'd set it aside and ignored it like it contained some sort of poison. "It's not poisoned. If I wanted to drug you, I have much more effective means at my disposal."

"I'm just not a huge drinker." Kiba took a sip, "Kurama, I know how you feel."

Kurama flushed, "Yeah, I figured." Still, it made his stomach clutch to have it brought up in the open. He felt his eyes widen as his chin dropped.

Kiba chuckled and took a long sip, setting his drink aside, "So, what is it about me that's attractive?"

"Well," Kurama frowned, "You're sexy."

Kiba waited.

"You're the type of man I'm attracted to." He shrugged.

Kiba picked his drink back up, "And what's the kind of man you're attracted to?" He finished it off.

He drew a circle around Kiba from his perspective. "That type."

"So descriptive."

"You look like someone I used to know." Kurama topped his drink with a couple alcohols and went to the table, sitting down at it. He finally got his eyes off of Kiba. His mind wandered to Kuronue.

"Ah." Kiba nodded, "Kurama." He summoned.

Kurama looked up, "Mm?"

"This is going to be my only night off for a while."

He chuckled, "Sorry, I don't mean to make this yours. That cute ass of yours doesn't deserve that," Kurama teased, watching his pretty green eyes.

"Hm?"

"What?" Kurama asked casually. "You don't think your ass is cute? I think it is." It wasn't his ass that was the most attractive part of him though, it was those eyes.

Kiba chuckled and shook his head.

"What?" Kurama challenged.

"Kurama." Kiba came over and sat down, "No, I don't think my ass is cute, I can't really see it."

Kurama smiled, "Well you're the one who admitted you knew how I felt. I was ready to ignore it and try to talk about something else."

Kiba chuckled, "I don't get much time to date or anything, so when someone is actually attracted to me," he shrugged.

"Then what?" Kurama prodded, trying to encourage him to finish the statement.

"I'm just surprised."

"I see."

"So, since I'm so surprised," Kiba shrugged, "And this is my only night off in a while."

"That sounds like an invitation to flirt with you." Kurama offered back, leaning on the table.

"It is."

"Anything, more than that?"

Kiba shrugged, "Depends."

"Yeah, well if you're drunk don't blame me if your variables get cloudy." Kurama swirled his drink and sipped it.

Kiba chuckled.

"If I can't get you inebriated for this I'm going to need to work harder."

"You're smart, I'm sure you can get me drunk."

"Yeah?" Kurama smiled. "That's good because I'd really like to just roll you into my bed and hold you close all night. Maybe give you a good wash so you don't smell like hospital."

"I tend to smell like hospital." Kiba agreed.

Kurama grunted and pulled out a seed from his hair. He closed his eyes and focused his energy into it softly, just poking it awake and alive. He let it grow how it wanted rather than controlling and fixing it, he just let it be, and it grew into a little blue flower with soft petals and a gentle smell almost like honey. He held it out to Kiba.

Kiba took it and smiled, "It's beautiful."

"Perhaps this will help."

Kiba stuck it in his pocket and nodded, "Maybe."

The rest of the night Kurama attempted to seduce Kiba into his bed, but he'd lost his knack for it, and in the end, Kiba went home and Kurama slept alone under his cold covers. Kurama wasn't happy about it, but he wasn't as upset as he led Kiba to believe, and Kiba knew it. Kurama wasn't sure how much of a relationship he was ready to have with the tumultuous life he was bound to be leading soon, and this was just the beginning of the storm.

Suffice it to say, he hardly slept until he was collected around the television with his mother, stepfather, and stepbrother watching the opening scenes of his commercial life on air.

It started with him pressing the record button on the camera and going to the chair. He left it in there because he knew it would get people's attention. "My name's Kurama, and I'm a three thousand some odd year-old demon, and, also, a twenty-five-year-old human. Recently, my friend was attacked viciously. Riva was tied down, drowned, suffocated, shot, her bones were broken, she was poisoned. The police know who did this to her. They found them in the act with recordings of their torture. The police did nothing. She gets no justice. The men who did this to her will never be apprehended. They will never see that what they did was wrong. They used her to 'further science' and almost did this to another friend of mine too, but they saw her as a control subject." Kurama sat in silence, and the image changed from him to pictures of Riva laying on Kuwabara's couch out cold broken up like she had been. "The authorities won't do anything for her, so I will. Stop the injustice. Stop the pain. The discrimination of demons needs to end." The last screen was just a social media post, a place to reblog, and a tag to trend, a simple one. Support Riva.

The commercial ended and Kurama glanced around at the humans around him, hoping some of them would at least look surprised even knowing what was going to happen going into it.

"They did that to her, Shuichi?" Shiori asked.

Kurama nodded. "I have the whole story up on that media site."

She shook her head, "That's terrible."

"I'm hoping to get it trending and then maybe the media will pick it up. If that happens, we can really get this going. I have two more commercials coming out this week from two different people about this same topic."

"Who are they from?"

"Well," Kurama sighed, "Unfortunately Riva doesn't have many friends, so they're from Hiei and Kiba."

"What did they do to Hiei?"

"At the time, Riva was helping Hiei stay alive, so they endangered his life. I also have a commercial coming out from Yukina, who was the control, and Riva's healer, but I saved that until after we see the two more emotional videos."

She shook her head and looked over at her husband.

"This is horrible." Hatanaka shook his head. "You're saying humans did this to her? To a demon?"

Kurama nodded. "I am trying not to bring those words into it so much though. I mean, most people right now hear demon or human and start shutting themselves down, turning off their emotions. I want to make this people doing this to people. Riva was kidnapped, tortured, and left for dead by scientists. They don't even do that to most lab animals."

Kokota shook his head, "I'll share that with my friends. Is she okay?"

Kurama shook his head, "Not yet. She's still in a coma."

"Is she in a hospital?" Hatanaka asked.

"No, Father. No hospitals know how to care for demons. She's with Kuwabara and Yukina, who is the healer taking care of her right now."

"Is Hiei alright now?"

"In a way. He hasn't slept soundly in a long time, but Riva's ambient body temperature seems to be enough for him to nap."

"Shuichi, I'm proud of you." Shiori reached over and took his hand tightly.

"Thank you, Mother, but all I really did was make a video."

"No, but you're doing this and trying to get the word out so other people don't have to go through what Riva did."

Kurama laughed, "My motives are much more selfish than that, but I appreciate the sentiment."

"Either way, I'm proud of you. When these other commercials come on let me know, I want to see what Hiei and this Kiba have to say about it."

"Alright. I will do that."

"Yeah, I'll look for them too and get my friends in on this." Kokota nodded.

"Thank you Kokota, that is a big help. The more it spreads, the better this will work."

"Yeah." He nodded.

All in all, the commercial was exactly what Kurama had hoped for, and now it was just, hopefully, a matter of time.

As Kurama lay down to go to sleep that night, his phone buzzed, then again, then again, and finally Kurama had to look at it. He rolled over and blinked his tired eyes awake letting them adjust to the light of the screen. Twelve texts. He sighed and flipped them open to read five different people texting him about one thing, an article. He clicked it and began to read.

'Political joust from demons upsets government.' He sighed, titles were horrible in the news. They really had to learn to write better. 'Today during the six o'clock broadcast of News Week, an infomercial played depicting a demon who has possessed a human for twenty-five years complaining about safety measures the government took against the demon insurgence accusing the government of sanctioning torture against demons. Officials in government are refuting the claims. Fajiukiyama stated "It's preposterous to think that we would be prosecuted for doing anything unjust to these demons when they are the ones invading our lands, taking our jobs, and breaking our families. This man knows nothing of truly being a human being. He's just some demon who's upset because he can't kill his problems." Kurama, the demon who made the video and starred in the infomercial was unavailable for comment.'

"Great." He sat up and rubbed his eyes looking over the article until he found the social media handle for the writer. Once he did, he got on his computer and set to work. He needed to respond to this quickly and correct the situation. Kurama began to make a new post for the web page he'd created sharing the article and talking back to it before tagging and emailing the writer of the article.

He was right in the middle of his third paragraph when his phone started ringing. He picked it up and wedged it between his shoulder and ear as he typed. "Minamino."

"So, this commercial went both ways." Kiba offered over the phone.

"Yeah. I figured it would. Humans have to fight this somehow after all. They don't just want to bow down and change their thoughts on demons."

"Right."

"It's called a fight for civil rights for a reason."

"I suppose so. Stay safe, Kurama."

"Kiba, are you still interested in being a part of this? I mean, you see how they lashed out at me." He sent the email and began looking for the next stupid reporter who would accuse him of being possessed and some insurgent. It only took him a few minutes to find them.

"They'll probably take away my job and what degree I have, but, I don't know. I feel like it needs to be done. I've had the police give me people who were dead, just. Dead."

"Mm, well I can only imagine that they wanted Riva to die."

"Probably. I just don't know what will happen if I'm not at the station to take care of the demons that come in."

"I can hold off on your video until last if you want or put it next week. Maybe you can find someone to replace you before then."

"Next week. Right. I'll say I need someone to help. I know someone who would be able to do the job."

"Who would that be?" Kurama asked. He thought Kiba might name his brother, but he wasn't sure about that. He just needed to make sure he didn't name Yukina because she was going to be in a video too.

"It's one of my patients, actually. She expressed an interest in helping others, but at the time I didn't need the help. She's a healer, not like I am, not as skilled, but she can get the job done."

"I see. Well I wish you luck."

"I wish you luck. I don't want to see you because someone tried to bash your head in."

"If you do lose your job maybe you can run interviews with me."

"There we go," Kiba laughed, but it was short.

"I mean, you've known her the longest." Kurama sent out another email offering an interview to another reporter, then began to use his new internet tag to spread news of the fallacies going on against him.

"Yeah. Well, I need to start getting ready."

"For what? It's nearly midnight Kiba."

"I suppose it is, but I have to help someone at the station."

"They really need a better policy about that."

"Yeah well." Kiba sighed.

"Can you do me a favor?"

"Depends on the favor, but probably."

"If anyone comes to the police station asking about Riva, or the case, can you shoot me a text to tell me who they are and what organization they're with? I'm expecting the news will probably run with this already."

"Yeah."

"Thanks." He sent out another email, then started one for Koto and Juri. "I'm going to try to get ahold of Koto and Juri to see if they want dibs on this. Maybe that'll help get some of the facts right."

"Good."

"Alright, well I should free up my phone in case anyone is a night owl."

"Alright, see you around Kurama."

"Goodbye Kiba." He hung up. Nearly ten minutes after sending his email to Koto and Juri, his phone was ringing again. He answered it casually, trying not to get irritated about voices this late at night.

"Hello? This is Shuichi Minamino."

"Ooh, Kurama!" The feminine voice on the other line swooned.

"Hello Koto," Kurama greeted back.

"I'd like to set up an interview with you."

"Mm, alright. When?"

"Ooh, whenever is good for you! I'll make the time for you, Kurama."

"How about tomorrow morning around six?"

"That works!"

"Alright, where should I go?"

Koto read off an address and some instructions.

"Alright. And in exchange for this interview, I'd like you to help me stop the lies that are circulating about me."

"Of course! Anything for you."

"Thank you, Koto. Make sure you correct them about me possessing Shuichi. It's not a possession. I am Shuichi. Shuichi has no soul. If I leave this body, it dies."

"Understood!"

"Good. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Alright!" Koto hung up.

Kurama finally crawled back in bed and tried to go to sleep, but it was a fight to get there.


	12. Outward Bound

Hiei sat beside Riva on the couch. She was still unconscious, and he was listening to her breathing. It was just once in a while she'd take a quick breath in like her lungs remembered they needed air, then she'd hold it again, or slowly breathe out, and wait. He kept fearing that the next one would never come. It felt like an eternity between breaths, and he couldn't nap.

Yukina and Kuwabara were tucked away in bed, and Kuwabara was still pissy about the whole ordeal, and Hiei was done with it. He didn't want to fight the man anymore, he just wanted Riva to wake up.

Hiei pulled Riva into his arms and stood, glancing down the hallway. It'd be better for Yukina too. She was getting tired. With careful steps he made his way over to the door and opened it, disappearing.

When he finally made it back to the bug he didn't bother going to Mukuro, he went straight for the tanks, flaring his energy as he went. He knew she'd show up to punch him through a wall for being gone, or to come and see why he wasn't going to his room.

He entered the tank room and the custodian for the tanks jumped to see him carrying a woman in his arms. "Get her clothes off and we'll set her in the primary tank." The custodian instructed as he began to poke and swipe at buttons readying the tank.

Hiei undressed her quickly and set her down gently on a table they had out. He stepped back and shoved his hands into his pockets, waiting.

The demon started putting sensors on her, and then wheeled her over to the tank and lifted her in. He pulled the mask from the top of the tank down to her and put it over her face before plugging in the rest of the chords, wrapping her up in them as he did. When he finished, he closed the tank door and began it into its processes. The tank slowly filled with the healing liquid.

Hiei didn't leave. He watched the tank and lowered his energy. She wasn't dead, so it wouldn't take too long, but it'd be a few hours.

"Who is she?" Mukuro asked, coming in the doorway behind him. He didn't feel her sneak up on him because her energy surrounded her fortress.

"Her name is Riva. She's been keeping me alive for the past, however long."

"Then shouldn't you be the one in the tank?" Mukuro stepped up beside him, examining the naked woman. Her body was covered with scars from her collar bone all the way down to her feet.

"No, I'm stable now. I just can't sleep. The humans kidnapped her and experimented on her like she was an animal."

"They do that," Mukuro accepted.

"They're cracking down on demons in Human World. The police injected me with this, stuff and I couldn't keep my temperature up. They almost killed me. It made everything freeze."

Mukuro took that with silence, waiting for him to continue.

"The demon doctor at the police station had Riva come and heat me up. She saved my life. I can't sleep without her yet though, I start to get cold again."

"Why?"

"You know why." Hiei glanced at her.

"I'm not asking you why you're get cold, I'm asking you what causes you to lose your control."

"It's doing something to my energy still."

"Hm." Mukuro waved over the medical man and gestured to Hiei. "Do a blood test on him."

The scientist nodded and hurried off, then back again with a syringe. "Arm please."

Hiei offered him the arm without the dragon, pulling up the sleeve of his cloak.

The demon felt around on his arm for a vein, then poked him with the needle and drew his blood. When he was satisfied with the amount he'd gotten, he healed the small puncture and hurried off.

Hiei dropped his arm, "Yukina can't heal her, neither can the doctor at the station, I figured this is the best way to fix her."

"Perhaps. What are those symbols down her chest?" Mukuro asked stepping closer to examine the girl more closely.

"They're restraining her energy, sutras. The humans tattooed them on."

"Tattooed? Hn, we don't even do that to ourselves or our enemies."

"I know." Hiei shook his head.

"The tank should take that off. So why do you care about her again?"

"Good. She saved my life, and she's attractive."

"You like her?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I can't place it yet. Despite how she appears, she's not weak. She's warm, soft." Hiei nodded.

"So, there's nothing which stands out to you?"

"She saved Yukina."

"Mm, that sounds more sentimental than something you should find someone attractive for."

"I liked her before that, I just don't know why."

They saw Riva twist a little in the tank. She was starting to wake up finally. The tattoo on her chest was fading with every passing moment, and as it faded, her energy grew.

"I can't patrol yet, I haven't had enough sleep, just naps here and there."

"Alright. It looks like this might only take another half an hour."

"Good."

Mukuro nodded, "I'll check back in with you in an hour."

"Alright."

Mukuro left Hiei alone with the tank operator and Riva. She blinked awake and opened her eyes slowly. When her eyes caught Hiei's, she relaxed, and her eyes fell shut again.

Hiei sighed and found a seat. " _How are you feeling?"_

" _Tired. My chest hurts."_

" _This tank you're in will heal you."_

" _I recognized it."_

" _Good. I brought you here because I didn't have faith you'd recover fully quickly, and it's best to make things painless."_

" _Thank you."_

" _Of course."_

" _The woman I was with. Is she okay?"_

" _Yes."_

Hiei heard Riva's relief as the beeps and tones monitoring her slowed.

Hiei sighed and nodded. Now he just had to wait. He took the time to look over her scars and body. The girl was littered with them. She had more shackle marks around her ankles, knees, and under her hips on her legs. Some of the scars were cut over those areas, like one which went down her waist, skipped where she had the rub marks under her hips, then down her leg. The one which caught his attention the most, however, was a dark gouge on her side extending from her belly button around her hip like she'd been blown up by something. The edges of the craterous gouge were tattered and rough, and even within that scar, there were more cuts which whitened the dark patch. The tank had begun to heal some of her scars when the controller drained it, letting Riva fall to her feet. She collapsed to her knees as her energy slowly began to collect again.

Hiei stood but didn't approach the tank. He'd let her come back to the world on her own.

After a few moments kneeling on the ground, Riva ran her hand through her hair, brushing out the liquid from the tank, and then shoved herself back to her feet again. She started removing the chords which kept her prisoner in the tank, starting with the mask, and the controller hurried over to help her, giving her a towel to cover up.

Once she was unplugged, he led her to a shower in the room where she rinsed herself off, and then got dressed before coming out to see Hiei. She hadn't been well dressed since she'd been sleeping on the couch, so instead of having clothes on, she still had on the stuff she borrowed from Yukina, a pair of pink bunny sweatpants, and a baggy t-shirt whose neck nearly hung down to her nipple. The shirt had been from Kuwabara because none of Yukina's shirts gave them quick access to the sutra should they need it.

Riva flushed when she stood before Hiei, and wrapped her arms over her chest, hiding herself from him.

"I've already seen you naked." Hiei dismissed.

"That doesn't mean I'm not embarrassed by it."

Hiei chuckled and removed his cloak. He draped it over her shoulders, "There."

She tugged it on, pulling it closed around her, and smiled, "Thank you."

Hiei nodded, "I have an apartment here if you feel like you need to rest."

Riva nodded, "Thank you. Do you have some sort of shoes I can borrow until I get home?" She wiggled her bare toes.

Hiei frowned and looked around, not that there was anything there to help them, and shook his head, "I'll buy you some. Can you walk?"

"Yeah, I just don't want to travel across Demon World without anything." She looked a bit helpless and pleading.

"No, my apartment is here." Hiei offered.

She nodded. "Alright, let's go." She shivered a little from her hair being wet still, and warmed herself up, rubbing her arms.

Hiei led the way out, heading for his apartment. He walked beside Riva, "Does your chest still hurt."

"No, not as much. It's just a little achy now." She fell back a few steps to walk behind him rather than next to him.

Hiei glanced back at her but dismissed it and continued on.

"Where is she?" Riva asked suddenly when they were about halfway to the apartment.

"The woman you were with? She's home, safe. She's unharmed."

Riva sighed in relief. "Good. I'm glad it worked."

Hiei nodded. They continued the walk in silence. Hiei opened his apartment door for her and closed it behind them.

Riva looked about the small apartment and spotted the couch almost immediately. She beelined for it and sat down looking up at Hiei expectantly. "Come on. You probably need to sleep too." She patted her lap.

Hiei came over and laid down, resting his head in her lap, "Is this what you wanted?"

"Yeah, you're probably tired too." She rested her hand on his chest and lay back against the couch, shutting her eyes. He could feel the gentle warmth radiating off of her hand which penetrated deep into his chest, heating his core. Hiei closed his eyes, sighing in delight before he fell asleep.

He woke up when he felt Mukuro close to the apartment. He had to shake himself awake, which jostled Riva enough to wake her up too. She groaned and rubbed her sleepy eyes.

"Sorry." Hiei sat up, "Mukuro is near."

"Mukuro?" Riva yawned.

"Yes."

His front door opened and Mukuro strolled in. "Well that looks compromising." Mukuro remarked as she came over to the small sitting area and took a seat in the chair across from them.

"We were sleeping."

"She just woke up and you're making her sleep again?"

"She wanted rest."

"I did. I'm sorry. I don't think we've met before." Riva remarked as she tipped her head away from Mukuro, watching her out of the side of her eyes rather than head on.

"This is Riva."

"I assume you told her who I am?"

"Yeah."

"Mukuro?" Riva asked Hiei skeptically.

Hiei nodded.

Riva dropped her gaze to her lap. "I'm sorry my lord. I didn't realize he meant that Mukuro was coming to see us when he said you were nearby. I meant no offense."

Hiei glanced at Mukuro, curious what she'd say.

Mukuro was studying Riva closely, a frown burrowed deep on her face.

"What?"

"What should you be sorry for?" Mukuro asked.

"I-" Riva shifted uncomfortably in her spot, and got up, pacing away from Hiei, and slipping behind the couch, standing on the far side from him, her hands resting on the back.

"Riva?"

Riva glanced at Hiei for a moment, then looked back down at her hands on the back of the couch. "If I realized who you were, I wouldn't have been looking at you so boldly."

"Mukuro doesn't care if you look at her."

"No, I don't. In fact, I hate those submissive displays of yours. If you're not a real person, then just go die somewhere. We have no time for your kind here." Mukuro stood briskly.

Hiei stood too, "Mukuro."

Mukuro glared at him, frustration and anger boiling her energy high. He could practically feel the air shock him from her energy prickling in it.

"What's this about?"

Mukuro shook her head and headed for the door. "Ask your pet."

Hiei frowned, "What's that mean?" He started after her.

Hiei caught up to her in the hall and Mukuro rounded on him, glaring at him. "No wonder you're in love with her. She's just your type isn't she! After you couldn't get me, you went and found one for yourself!"

"I don't understand!" Hiei barked.

"If you don't understand then you're more daft than I thought!" Mukuro threw a hard punch at him, trying to knock him back. She was upset.

Hiei blocked the punch and stepped back, "Found one what? What are you talking about?"

"What do you think I'm talking about!" Mukuro growled lowly, their hands connected from his block. She shoved her hand towards his face at an odd angle twisting it, so her wrist was in view more than her hand.

Hiei frowned, "Alright, but what do you take me for? I'm not going after her because I couldn't get you, I don't see you that way."

Mukuro pulled away from him and stomped down the hall, then back again, then back down, and back again trying to formulate something to say. She pointed towards Hiei's apartment, "Don't lie to me Hiei."

"Do you think I'm lying? I've never wanted you, not, like that."

"Then why do you want her!"

"Because she's a fucking tease and I just like her! Alright! I think maybe the injection threw off my hormones!"

Mukuro glared at him, but he wasn't getting kicked through the roof, so he figured the small battle was over. Maybe she wouldn't kill him this time. "She's not fit for that. Get rid of her."

"Why? She saved my life and she saved Yukina's life."

"Why? Why! You're asking me why? I don't need to explain myself to you, underling. Just do as I say!"

Hiei growled and unsheathed his sword. He lunged at her, hoping she really wouldn't kill him.

She tested his resolve for a few strikes before pushing him back and standing down, folding her arms over her chest and turning sideways. "Fine, but I want nothing to do with that wench."

"Hn."

"And Hiei? Your love is false. There is no way you can love some shallow bitch like that. You're just lusting after her."

Hiei glared at her, "You can't know that."

"You don't know her, Hiei. You know the person she's designed to be. A girl like that can't even be honest with themselves."

"Hn."

Mukuro walked away from him leaving him alone in the hallway to contemplate what she said.

Hiei looked at the door and frowned. Maybe what he was feeling was just lust. He didn't have much experience with love, or much lust for that matter. He sighed and went back into his apartment, closing the door.

"I-I'm sorry Hiei. Did I cause a scene?" Riva asked quietly from where she stood by the couch.

"It doesn't matter."

"It does to me."

Hiei shook his head and sat down on his couch. He wasn't sure what to think.

Riva came over and sat beside him. She watched him closely, but she didn't comment or try to interrupt his thoughts.

Hiei glanced at her and sighed through his nose. He leaned back into the couch and crossed his arms over his chest. Mukuro had a point, and he couldn't ignore it. The Fox would have an idea, maybe. He just wasn't sure how to test the point himself.

"Is there something I can do?"

"No."

"Oh." She folded her hands in her lap. "I won't stay long. Once I get shoes, I'll head home."

Hiei nodded, "Alright."

Riva glanced at him, "Do you still need me?"

"A little."

"All of the chemicals should be out of your system soon. I'd say another week or less."

Hiei nodded again and rubbed his face, "I'm going to train." He stood, "Do you need anything?"

"Shoes?" She frowned. "Maybe something to eat?" She looked up at him hopefully.

"Alright." Hiei nodded.

"Thank you Hiei. I appreciate you taking care of me like this. It's been a long time since I've been in Demon World and I'm afraid I'm poorly equipped for it." She let a little sheepish smile play across her face as she peeked up at him from beneath her shaggy black bangs.

But was she really what Mukuro said she was? She talked to him fine and people referred to him as a Lord. Yeah, she was submissive, and that wasn't entirely good with how submissive she could be, but she wasn't at his knees offering to do anything he wanted.

"I'll pay you back when we get to Human World, just name the price and I'll do it for you." Riva offered gazing up at him.

"No, you've already paid for it." He was wrong.

She dropped her eyes. "I think we're even, Hiei. I wouldn't have woken up without your services. I would count that as saving my life and I have saved yours."

"No, you've saved another life that's close to me, and I'm forever grateful. You don't have to pay me back for anything."

"If I've done something for someone else who is close to you, that is between me and them, not you and me."

"No, just, you don't have to pay me back." Hiei shook his head, heading for the door.

She didn't stop him from leaving. Hiei went straight to the training hall. Training always cleared his head.


	13. Work is Irrelevant

Kurama primped his suit and sat straighter in his chair watching his interviewer prep for the interview. They were both sitting stiffly in their seats.

"Are you ready?" The interviewer asked. His name was Roy Falstrim, and he was a human reporter who was getting on the bandwagon after seeing Koto's interview with him. Today was day three, and he was releasing another commercial soon, not that they knew that.

"I am."

"Alright." He nodded towards the camera man who counted down with his fingers before pointing at them to tell them they were recording. The reporter smiled warmly for the camera. "Today we have a special treat for you. Recently there has been a wave of demon rights activists appearing across the world, and we are here today with the demon who started it all, Kurama."

Kurama winced a bit when he smiled, "I'm, not sure I should take that kindly. This body is human. I consider myself somewhere in between."

"So, did you possess this body?"

"I'm glad you brought that up, no. I did not. This body does not have any other soul than mine. If my soul was exorcised from this body, it would die. My human family has always had me as their son. The Shuichi Minamino who got perfect grades in school, and scholarships to universities, and created a miraculous recovery in the Hatanaka Corporation's wealth was all me. I have been my mother's son since the day I was born."

"How'd you manage that?"

"Technically? I was born twice. When my old body died, I skipped a step of going in for judgement and went right to reincarnation."

"Uh huh. Okay." Roy nodded, "So everyone is talking about that commercial, and everyone is saying it's fake. What do you have to say to that?"

"It's not. Riva was kidnapped, and tortured, and everything that commercial says. As for the allegations that I cannot produce her for an interview, well, that makes sense for someone who's in a coma, doesn't it? Coma patients can't do interviews. We are working on a way to revive her and help her recover, but it hasn't been a speedy process due to a sutra they tattooed to her chest."

"People are saying it looks fake though, the pictures, everything. How can someone go through so much and still live? Demons have a limit, right?"

Kurama shook his head, "We do, but it depends on the power levels and abilities of the demon. For instance, I've personally had explosive charges set off all across my body from a fight during the Dark Tournament. That was difficult to recover from, but I did it."

"So how do you still have limbs?"

"Well, my human body is reinforced with my demonic energy from my previous life. I soften the blows of my enemies using my energy."

"Do you have scars from it?"

Kurama nodded. "I do."

"Well can you show us?"

Kurama flushed and lowered his chin, lifting an eyebrow at the man. "You want me to strip?"

"No, I don't want you to strip, I wasn't even suggesting it."

"You just asked to see my scars. They're all over my body. I would have to strip to show you my scars."

"Oh, well you did say all over, so I assumed you had one on your arm."

Kurama nodded, "Yes, my arm, shoulder, back, side, you're right, but it wouldn't be something you could see without me taking off my shirt to show you the outline of it."

"Hm. If you say so. So, Kurama, do you have any other commercials planned?"

"I do. I also am creating a documentary."

"Oh, well, good luck with that." It was sarcastic, "So Kurama, if you're so unhappy here, why don't you just go home?"

Kurama chuckled, "Where were you born Roy?"

"In Japan."

"What town did you grow up in?"

"Kyoto."

"And now you live here. Would you call Kyoto home, or this place where you've built a life for yourself, where your family is, and your job?"

"Well, here."

"It's the same for me. I am home. I have been here the past twenty-five years and enjoyed most of it like any other human. I've worked hard to create my life how I want it, and I've done my job well. I'd say I'm a better human than most of us, and the accolades I've managed to win are proof of that too."

"A demon more human than a human, folks." Roy laughed.

"You laugh, but it's true. Here you sit scoffing at me, being rude, and disrespectful while I am being patient and courteous to you. Who is the more morally correct, the more humane of us? Did I invite you onto my documentary to use you as an example of the prejudices against demons? Or did you invite me to interview me to make me look like a lying fool?"

Roy just stared at him, stiff and uncertain how to respond to that.

"Well?" Kurama pressed. "Would you really say you're the better human?"

"We're going to take a break." Roy smiled.

Kurama watched the camera man until he nodded that the recorder was off, and Kurama couldn't see the red light on it anymore. "Look, Roy, I know you're going to probably edit most of this out, but if you want anything substantial, you're going to have to ask better questions." He reached up and began unbuttoning his shirt, careful with the sound equipment.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm showing you my scars." Kurama replied.

"It, uh." Roy frowned.

Kurama got the last of his buttons undone. "I can't exactly unbutton my shirt and get it off with a mic attached to it. That would be bad sound." He slipped his shirt off to reveal an undershirt. He untucked his undershirt and pulled it up to show him. "Look." He traced where Karasu's bomb had ripped a hole in his stomach about the size of a tennis racket. The skin was pasty white and wrinkly from the scar tissue, and it wrapped down towards his waistline.

Roy leaned forward and examined it and shook his head, "That's…"

"This was my fight with Karasu." Kurama tucked his shirt back in and rolled up his sleeve to show a scar with green peeled into it on his arm. "This was with Touya. I had to plant a seed in my arm to win the fight. The plant laced its way through my entire body and this is the scar from where it tore itself free."

He grimaced in disgust.

"So, to answer your question, yes. Demons have limits, but we can take a beating. Riva's wounds were real. She was on death's door when she was rescued and healed, and that's because the scientists who did this to her wanted her there. They restrained her energy which could have healed her in hours or days and tried to kill her using anything that would kill a human. They wanted to find those limits you're so fond of." Kurama started buttoning up his shirt again.

"Hm."

"Right now, Riva is being treated for the sutra they tattooed down her chest," Kurama indicated his entire chest, where Riva's tattoo had been. "I can only hope that she managed to get the treatment she needed to live. You see, there are only about six machines for the treatment she needs in all of Demon World. It's not a simple process to get her to one of them, let alone convince someone to run one for her. She's most likely going to die unless Demon World can pull through and be compassionate, but with how little compassion I'm finding in Human World, I'm beginning to lose hope that it really exists." Kurama adjusted his shirt and sat up straight on his stool watching the camera man again.

Roy shook his head, glancing at the camera man.

The camera man nodded to him. Roy sighed and nodded as well.

Kurama puzzled over the exchange. The light wasn't red on the camera, but they were communicating about something. Still, there wasn't much to worry about given he wasn't going to do anything bad regardless of if the camera was on or off.

"Well, is that all you'd like to do, Kurama?"

"I'd like to convince you to help my cause and help remove all of this false information about me from circulating in the media. I'm not possessing this body. Riva is real, and she was hurt. She saved a friend of mine from being hurt by sacrificing herself, and that friend knows everything that happened to her because she was a witness to it. I'm not lying when I say scientists searched for how much punishment Riva could take before she died. They released her to my friend because she was on the verge of death. If I can't count on you to help stop the fallacies, then yes, that's all, Roy. I was hoping you'd be a real journalist and report the truth rather than rumor."

"It was nice interviewing you, Kurama."

Kurama nodded and smiled. "Thank you for this opportunity, Roy."

Roy nodded.

Kurama got up and left.

Once Kurama was out of the station, he called Kiba feeling like he needed to go run straight across Japan a few times.

"This is Doctor Kiba."

"If I say I'm having an anxiety attack, can I convince you to come spar with me?"

"Uh," Kiba considered it, "I'm not very good at fighting."

"What about blocking?"

"Probably?"

"That would do. I could give you a shield or something to help."

"Alright. Where are we going to meet? I'm not busy, seems to be slow today."

"I could pick you up at the station."

"I'd rather change." Kiba offered, "I really don't want to ruin my work outfit."

"I could pick you up at your home, if you'd be willing to finally tell me where that is."

Kiba chuckled and rattled off his address and hung up.

Kurama headed to Kiba's residence at a run rather than a walk. He was there just a minute or two after Kiba hung up with him, so he sat around on the roof waiting for Kiba to show up and change.

Kiba was there after ten minutes and chuckled, "You can come in."

Kurama jumped down to join him. "Actually, I was eyeing your garden. It looks a bit neglected."

"I don't have much time for it." Kiba sighed, unlocking his door.

"Mm." Kurama veered away from him and began combing through Kiba's garden for the real plants which were planted on purpose rather than the weeds.

Kiba disappeared into his home.

When he came back, the redhead was arms-deep in dirt and chlorophyll from pulling weeds.

"Kurama." Kiba scolded.

Kurama looked up at him sheepishly. "Yes?"

Kiba just chuckled and shook his head.

Kurama pulled the last few weeds he could get to quickly and then stood up. He pulled out one of the longest blades of grass he could find from his pile of weeds, and flicked it into a sword, testing the weight of it. "I have a place in the park I'd like to go."

"Alright, lead the way." Kiba smiled.

Kurama did just that. He didn't keep a human pace on the way there either. He was eager to get fighting and he wanted to avoid humans staring at the man with a grass sword.

When they reached the clearing, Kurama squared off across from Kiba, who he gave a shield to hold that was about half Kiba's height, and twice as wide.

"Try not to kill me, alright?" Kiba peaked around the shield.

"I hereby solemnly swear I will do everything in my power to keep you alive." Kurama teased, but deep within himself, he knew it wasn't just a taunt. He meant it. He didn't want Kiba to die.

"I appreciate it, now I can handle a few scratches, but my little brother kind of needs me."

Kurama launched forward and swiped hard in a horizontal motion at the large shield with his grass blade. The shield rang loudly against Kurama's blade despite both of them being made of plant. Kiba stepped back from him quickly, shifting his stance.

Kurama launched a volley of attacks at that point knowing Kiba could take the brute force of his blows, and that the shield would reliably hold. He worked his arms and legs with slashes, kicks, jumps, twists, and punches for about an hour before his energy pushed so high from his adrenaline and joy at the sparring, that he changed bodies. He backed off from Kiba quickly and collapsed onto his butt as his head swam with the sensation of changing, and his senses overwhelmed him.

"Are you alright?" Kiba asked around the shield.

Kurama pushed himself up to his feet as he felt the exhaustion of changing forms creep into his old bones. "Y-yeah. I've just had a bit of a wardrobe malfunction."

"That's one way to put it."

Kurama released his grip on the sword and shield, dropping them back into a leaf and grass. "I feel a little sick now." He covered his eyes, which prickled at the bright sunlight, and wandered towards the shade of a tree.

Kiba set the leaf aside and came over to his side, "How so?"

"It's just how I feel when I transform."

"Alright."

Kurama sighed in relief when he got under the shade and watched Kiba closely.

Kiba looked out at the park, "Just tell me if you need help."

"Alright." Kurama leaned against the tree, shutting his eyes. "Kiba, you haven't had any time to think about..." his libido jumped at the idea of Kiba dating him.

"Hm?"

"About, uh, going on dates with me?" Why did he feel like such a schoolgirl when he asked that? He wasn't even that young. He should be able to ask a man out and not feel like his stomach was going to kill him.

He heard Kiba sigh, but it wasn't discontent, it was just a sigh. "I haven't given it too much thought, I've been busy."

"Mm."

"I wouldn't be against it, it's just, I don't think I'm a good person to date with how my work is."

"Well, I'll be the judge of that, thank you."

Kiba chuckled.

"Plus, if we became serious, I could build you a school to teach other people to do what you do, or a clinic for the police to bring the demons to instead of the other way around."

"Yeah."

"You might be able to get funded through charity if you set it up on one of those charity websites."

"Yeah?" Kiba asked.

"Yeah."

"Hm."

Kurama reached out for the man wanting contact with him. He snagged his wrist and pulled him beneath the shade of the tree wrapping his arms around him. He snuggled against his shoulder and sighed. Kiba didn't smell like Kuronue, but he didn't smell bad after he worked up a sweat. He smelled spicy where Kuronue always smelled like sugar or vanilla.

Kiba gently wrapped his arms around him and sighed too, quiet.

"Why here Kiba? Why are you in Human World? What dragged you here?" Kurama leaned back enough to see Kiba's face as he waited for the answer. He looked so similar to Kuronue when the man had his hair down, but Kuronue never kept his hair down.

"Well, numerous reasons. My little brother, and I was curious about human medicine. Humans are easier to be around emotionally too. It's not as intense."

"Your brother?" Kurama couldn't help himself, he reached up and stroked his hand through Kiba's hair by the side of his face, gently fixing it where it had been sticking.

"Yeah."

God, he wanted to kiss him. The man was about as handsome as a model. "Why was he here?"

"Because he likes to travel."

"Did you used to travel with him?" Kurama asked, trying to push the sexual thoughts aside. It wasn't working very well. He felt his chest flutter from their skin touching, and his heart stuck in his throat as Kiba's hands stayed softly on his back.

"Yeah."

He was hugging Kiba. The man wasn't out of reach, he was just, out of time. God, he wanted to kiss him too. The outfit he picked out wasn't helping the situation. It was a well fitted shirt which flattered his muscular build, and flowing pants that hung around him like they were static charged to cling to his legs. "Where was your favorite place you traveled?"

"Oh." Kiba chuckled, "I liked a lot of them. I don't know if I could pick a favorite."

And his voice. His voice was deep enough to drill right to Kurama's core and make a happy nest each time he laughed. Kurama couldn't help the smile coming over his face and he knew it was mischievous, but he couldn't help it. Kiba laughing made him want to laugh, and he so wanted Kiba to laugh some more. His brain jumped through ten ways to make Kiba laugh and started weighing which one would be best. "What are some of the highlights?" Kurama asked, leaning into Kiba's chest, bringing their faces closer.

"Hm?"

Kurama chuckled. His emotions were getting to Kiba too. "Your favorite places, what are some highlights from the trips?"

"Oh. Well." Kiba considered it, and as he did, Kurama slid his hands around Kiba's back, rubbing it softly getting him used to the feel of a hug where Kurama couldn't sit still and just hold him. Mostly he wanted to feel him up, but that was going to take time, and Kurama knew that, so he had other motives, like warming him up to the idea that his hands wouldn't be stationary. "I got stuck in a tree once." He chuckled, "That was a nightmare. My brother sat there laughing his ass off for a good ten minutes before he helped me."

"If I had been there I would have felled any tree that would dare stick you," Kurama cooed to him, lowering his pitch trying to sound as sultry as he could.

Kiba laughed.

Kurama smiled again and closed his eyes to resist the urge to kiss him. He nuzzled into his neck instead and hugged him tighter.

"And there was this one time we found these really nice hot springs, so we got in them." Kurama groaned in delight at the idea of Kiba naked in hot springs. "And about fifteen minutes into getting into them we had spears at our necks. Turns out they were for the leader of whatever village only and some other fancy stuff."

Kurama chuckled at that one. "Well if they didn't have an off-limits sign, then how were you to know?"

"That's what I said."

Hearing Kiba's voice so close to his ears sent shivers down Kurama's spine, and he had to pull away to stop from groping the man. He let his hands rest on Kiba's hips, staring him in the eye just to see him. He was going to miss him when he had to go back to work.

"You'd probably like my brother too. He's a little more wild, but we look a lot alike. Long hair and everything."

"I don't want wild, I want you," Kurama rebuked immediately. He stiffened a little when he realized he'd actually said it. He wasn't supposed to actually say it. He felt sheepish about that.

Kiba grunted, "If you say so."

Kurama smiled. He could work with this. Kiba wasn't scared off by that. That was what reassured him this could work. Kiba wasn't running away. Kurama always worried about dating someone like Hiei because Hiei was just so flighty. When he didn't understand something, he was likely to leave the world rather than deal with it. Kiba was more resolved and dealt with things more directly. Kurama could trust Kiba to attack him back if Kiba was upset by something. He knew Kiba would tell him his boundaries rather than just leaving the problem. The thought made Kurama realize something else, Kiba wasn't trying to stop him from being this close, or from having his hands on his hips. He hadn't found that boundary yet, and he wanted to find it so bad. He leaned forward almost like he was going to kiss him, wanting to see if Kiba would shy away from the idea. When he didn't, Kurama passed the opportunity up anyway, and rested his head more directly against Kiba's, pressing his cheek against the side of Kiba's head near his ear, letting his breath trickle over the sensitive appendage.

Kurama whispered in Kiba's ear. "You don't _have_ to work."

"No, but I feel obligated to help people."

"But I want you," Kurama murmured lowly.

"I'm aware, but I like helping people."

"I could use an extra set of hands." Kurama wasn't talking about sex even though the innuendo was there. He meant that he wanted Kiba's help with the freedom movement he'd started, but Kurama doubted that Kiba could pick up on that when he was so horny he was going to burst.

Kiba sighed, "I'll probably lose my job anyways with those commercials."

"Mm, and then you might lose your property, and you could move in with me, and I could conveniently lose Hiei's extra bed, and we could sleep together." Kurama's hands slipped down just slightly on his waist, teasing towards his butt.

Kiba grunted, "I like my house. My brother knows where it is."

"I could make you a landlord. You could keep it and move in with me and rent it out to demons who can't afford the prices of apartment insurance for demons people seem set on keeping."

"Kurama," Kiba leaned back, "We're not even dating."

He'd found the boundary. Still, that wasn't bad. Kurama leaned back too and looked them up and down. They were still in each other's arms, and despite finding the boundary for conversation, Kiba wasn't letting go of him yet. Kurama waited in silence for Kiba to decide where to go with this. Instead, he fixed him with his gaze, waiting for Kiba to make the next move.

"So, I don't want to get into moving in talk until we're serious." Kiba offered.

Kurama's smile faltered and fell. Kiba was right, but Kurama was pretty sure he was serious about this. It was just a matter of getting over these puppy love jitters. After all, he was old enough to know how he felt, and he knew that Kiba had him wrapped up like a pretzel.

"So, let's start dating first, and then if we work we can get into talking about that."

"Will you date me now? Will you be my boyfriend?" Maybe he could skip the 'getting to know you' dates and go right to boyfriend.

Kiba chuckled, "Slow down."

God that laugh sent him right back into his balls. His brain stopped as he relished the sound. It took him a couple seconds to hear what Kiba responded, but by that point it was too late to feel bad about it. Kurama chuckled too and closed his eyes, resisting his urges again. "Fine. How about I cook you dinner?"

"Alright."

"And breakfast." That would be two out of the way. "Maybe we could watch a movie tonight? I promise you can sleep in Hiei's room rather than mine so we have a little time apart." Maybe that would work out to three.

"I suppose, if I don't work."

Kurama's mischief worked itself into his smile again.

"Kurama."

"Yes?" Kurama practically purred with innocence.

"Don't do anything stupid."

"Oh, I won't," he promised warmly. This wouldn't be stupid. Human security was incredibly flawed.

"Anything, stupid, at all. I really don't want to have to treat you."

"I wouldn't need treatment unless you wanted to," Kurama glanced down suggestively, "play doctor."

Kiba laughed loudly and let go of him.

Kurama laughed too and followed after him snagging his pant loop. "Where do you think you're going?" he growled in his ear teasingly as he pressed his chest to Kiba's back.

"I don't know," Kiba chuckled.

Kurama wrapped his arm around the front of his caught prey and rubbed his abs slowly, "You don't say."

"Kurama." Kiba scolded, pushing his hand away.

Well, there was the physical barrier. Kurama caught his fingers and slipped up beside Kiba like the model of decency that he really wasn't. "Do you want to wait at home for me to go grocery shopping or do you want to come with me?"

Kiba chuckled, "I suppose I could come with."

"Alright. What's your favorite meat?" Kurama asked casually as he closed his eyes and began to breathe deeply and slowly, trying to put himself into a trance so he could get back to Shuichi.

"Um, chicken?"

"What about something more exotic like quail?"

"I can do quail."

"So, birds are good."

Kiba nodded.

Kurama took Kiba to a couple stores once he was back in his redhead form, and they were only swarmed by people twice when Kurama was recognized. Most people didn't realize who he was.

When Kurama got home, he was tired from the energy exchanges and ready for a long winter's nap, but he wanted to cook for Kiba. He wanted to make it delicious, so he put on some tea to help get his energy up. After just half an hour, he set the table and presented his dish to Kiba and sat down with one for himself too. He dug in first as was tradition for demons eating together in case something was poisoned.

Kiba started eating after him and nodded, "This is really good."

"Thank you. Now I don't suppose you'd like a bit of light dinner conversation for our date?" Kurama knew he was rushing this, but he didn't want Kiba to slip away. His life was going to be busy soon and the growing recognition people had of him was making him nervous that he'd soon be too popular to keep Kiba's attention. He didn't want to become unobtainable in Kiba's eyes, so he needed to hurry.

"Of course."

That soft, dark voice gave Kurama pause again, food halfway to his mouth. Why did it keep doing this to him? He chewed slowly on his bite as he tried to restart his brain again. When he finally started trying to come up with topic conversations he was growing a list of inappropriate topics rather than finding any which could pass as light dinner conversation. He had to shut his eyes for a moment to get Kiba out of his head, but once his eyes were shut, his imagination took over.

 _No, I need conversation. What would I suggest Yukina and Kuwabara talk about?_ He had to force his brain towards an appropriate train of thought. "How has work been?" That was weak at best, but it was just going to have to do for now. At least it wasn't sexual.

"It's, busy."

"Have the police been treating you better since the commercials came out?"

"No."

"Has it changed?"

"It's gotten worse."

"I see. What are they doing which is worse?"

"Oh, it's nothing."

Kurama frowned, "I want to know Kiba. You can tell me about this."

"Well they insult me a lot and pull pranks on me constantly. They have a new favorite nickname for me of Ginger Banger too."

Kurama sighed heavily, "Yeah, that is bad. I'm sorry."

"Yeah."

"Is there anything I can give you to comfort you?"

"No."

"Alright." Kurama wasn't sure where to go with the conversation after that. He shouldn't have been asking closed questions.

Kiba nodded and continued eating, "So, yeah."

"Yeah. I think this is where you have to pick a conversation."

Kiba laughed, "Yeah, um, alright. You cook very good."

"Thank you. I was hoping that I could impress you with my choices."

"You did."

"What is your favorite type of taste?"

"Mm, I like savory."

"So, a full taste like stews?"

"Yeah, and things that stay on your tongue for a while."

"Like spices?"

"Yeah."

Kurama nodded, "That's good to know. Do you have a movie preference?"

"Oh, something funny."

Kurama smiled. He liked that idea. "Alright. What tickles your funny bone?"

"I'm sure you've figured it out." He teased.

Kurama frowned. Had he? He was so busy enjoying Kiba's laugh he hadn't analyzed when Kiba laughed. Thinking back on it, he noticed Kiba tended to laugh when he was making jokes or being lewd, but that could just be because he was uncomfortable. Maybe he was into bathroom humor.

"Well if you don't laugh at the movie I pick, I'll just have to try again with the next one." Maybe he could actually rope him into staying up most of the night with him so they could spend more time together.

"Alright."

Kurama smiled. Kiba was making this easy. He wasn't having to work very hard to keep gaining ground. Maybe he hadn't asked for enough in the initial negotiation of this night of dates. Kurama waited for Kiba to make the next conversation starter as he ate.

"So, Kurama," Kiba offered, "What's attractive about me to you?"

"Well you're gentle, in a way. You aren't scared off easily. You stand your ground well and you don't let people intimidate you. You're drop dead sexy, and your voice gets me horny." He had to think after that, so he ate and considered it. "And I can't hide from you."

"Why does my voice get you horny?"

"Your laugh especially," Kurama nodded. He wasn't going to tell him why unless he pushed it.

"Hm."

"Are you attracted to me as well?" Kurama had been assuming he was since Kiba wasn't causing a fuss about his attraction, but he had to ask because he couldn't feel it.

"Of course."

Kurama smiled. That was nice to hear. He didn't expect Kiba to admit it so readily and so wholeheartedly. "And what do you find attractive about me?"

"You're very determined about what you want. You see it, if you want it, you will acquire it. You're also understanding, and a great cook." Kiba wiggled the bite he had on his utensil around, "And you have nice hips, and I really want to figure out just how tangled your hair is."

Kurama laughed and grinned, "It's not tangled. It's just, naturally wild."

"Uh huh."

"It's not." He ran his hands through his hair as if to prove it, but he didn't dig his fingers in on purpose. It was sort of a mess. He never bothered brushing it out all the way.

"I'm convinced, for now."

"If you do go rooting around in my hair you'd best be gentle. I have weapons in there which might nip you."

"I'm not surprised."

Kurama let out a gentle breath, feeling placated and comfortable with Kiba across from him. They were almost done with dinner, so Kurama slowed down how fast he was eating to keep pace with Kiba.

As Kiba was eating, he smirked suddenly but tried to hide it by stuffing his face with food and looking around the kitchen.

Kurama watched him curiously, and when he caught Kiba's eyes for a second, he lifted an eyebrow as a means to inquire.

Kiba swallowed his bite and chuckled, "God, I was thinking about having my brother and I in the same room with you. I'm taller but we are a lot alike."

Kurama smiled. He could imagine it would be a ruckus with two of them in the room. "Well I saw you first. If your brother wants to visit, he's going to have to share."

Kiba chuckled, "He's always been attached to me. Practically raised him myself." Kiba shook his head.

That just warmed Kurama's heart. He smiled softer and nodded, "I suppose this is where I should tell you that Hiei and I are platonically bound as well."

"That's one way of saying it."

Kurama chuckled and grinned, "Yeah, well I also helped raise him I guess you could say. Yusuke did most of the heavy lifting, but Hiei needed a lot of work before he became a contributing member of society."

"Ah."

"I see him like a brother, or a child, I suppose. More like a brother though. That's why I like you so much better." That probably wouldn't make sense right off, but Kurama let it stand regardless. If Kiba had questions, he'd ask.

Kiba laughed.

Kurama chuckled and shifted uncomfortably in his seat, shutting his eyes to breathe a little slower and collect himself.

"You alright?"

"Mm, more than," he replied, his voice a bit deeper than he intended. He peeled his eyes open again and caught Kiba's gaze with a smile.

Kiba smirked.

"Do we have to go through all of this preamble? Are you sure?"

"Hm?"

"Going on dates. Pretending that we both don't know how intensely I feel about you, like you don't know that I'm not going to give up on you."

Kiba sighed and watched him, "Let me think about it, I'll tell you when I'm done eating."

"Alright." Kurama agreed, although he wasn't sure that it would be enough time for him. Kiba might renig and make it longer. "You could wait until after the movie if you'd like." He wanted to watch a movie with Kiba regardless of whether they were going on dates or boyfriends.

"Mm, maybe."

Kurama nodded. He wasn't going to give him any other concessions like that one freely. If Kiba wanted him to fight for him, he was going to do it. They finished their meals in silence giving Kiba time to think. When they were both done, Kurama got up with the dishes and began to clean them off, starting popcorn as he cleaned. He finished about the same time the popcorn was done, so he salted and buttered it, then came back to the table offering his hand to Kiba. "Shall we?"

Kiba took his hand but tugged him closer. He leaned down and kissed him on the lips.

The resulting hard on that Kurama got was hard enough to contain to just internal freaking out as he kissed Kiba back, trying not to pin him to the table and abandon the movie idea all together. He needed to show Kiba that he wasn't just horny for him, he also wanted to be with him, and while he really was horny for him, he was also desiring Kiba's company. He had to find a balance. God but his lips were so soft.

When Kiba pulled away, Kurama took a few breaths to collect himself before he opened his eyes and faced his challenge head on. Kiba waited.

"Sorry," Kurama apologized gently. He didn't want Kiba running away or refusing to kiss him. He wanted Kiba in his arms every night where he could hold him and snuggle with him and keep him safe from all the harm that may come his way.

"About what?"

"Getting so-" he sighed, "I'm obviously sexually attracted to you Kiba, and it's hard to control that when you're so hot. I won't act on it until we're ready. I promise you that."

"I can tell you're very attracted to me, but I wanted to kiss you."

"And I want to kiss you back, I just, need to keep control." If he didn't after their first kiss, it would be a lot of firsts.

"Do you need to go to the bathroom?" Kiba teased.

Kurama chuckled. "I don't think so." Kurama held out the bowl of popcorn to Kiba. "Come on, let's go get that movie going."

Kiba took it and smiled, "Alright."

As the credits rolled on the first movie, Kurama felt his apprehension grow. He tried to push it away, to calm himself, but it was all about Kiba. He really wanted to convince Kiba that they would be alright skipping the dates, but he wasn't sure he'd be able to. Kiba might want that part just because he was a romantic. Kurama wasn't sure.

Still, the movie had been a success and they had been laughing through most of it. Kurama was happy about that.

"Is this one of your favorite movies?"

"Mm, It's a better one, yeah."

Kiba chuckled, "I liked it."

"I'm glad." Kurama was relieved that his groin was finally not as responsive to Kiba's laughter. It still sounded prettier than an opera to the fox, but at least he wasn't getting hard from hearing it.

Kiba nodded and sighed happily, "So, what are we to do now?"

"Well, the movie was a success, so I don't think I need to try again, but there was a little something you were supposed to think about during the movie."

"Oh?"

Kurama nodded. "I was being serious when I asked you out, Kiba." Kurama watched the credits scroll by. He wasn't ready to face rejection just yet.

"I know, and I think I'm okay if we're, boyfriends."

Kurama smiled. It might take a while to get beyond that, but at least Kiba wasn't going to vanish off the face of the earth now. "Thank you."

Kiba nodded and leaned over, kissing his cheek.

Kurama sighed in relief and kissed Kiba softly on the lips. "Well, do you want separate beds or one bed?" Kurama's exhaustion was catching up to him. He could feel his energy warble against the bottom limits of hibernation.

"I could do one bed, but I need sleep."

"Me too." Kurama pushed himself up and held out his hand to Kiba. "We can talk about expectations tomorrow if you'd like, or we can just wing it."

"Alright." Kiba took his hand.

Kurama pulled him up and led him away to the bedroom. He pulled off his shirt and tossed it in the hamper without a second thought and started searching through his drawers for the obnoxiously oversized sleepwear his mother had purchased him for many Christmas gifts. She still thought he slept in clothes.

He found a pair of reindeer print sweats that would be big enough for Kiba and pulled them out, tossing them on his bed. He continued searching for something that would actually fit him right.

Kiba slipped into the reindeer sweats and he heard him chuckle.

Kurama smiled to hear the sound in such an intimate space. It warmed his soul to know that Kiba was comfortable enough with him to join him in bed. He wanted to smother the man in attention for it. Instead, he satisfied himself with just focusing on Kiba almost like he was going to tell him something telepathically, but instead of sending words over the soft link, he pushed his emotions, the warmth that pooled in his chest, and the gentle pleasure that soothed his mind. He wanted Kiba to feel that too.

"I'm glad that made you happy."

Kurama glanced at him, pleased that his efforts weren't futile. Now that he knew he could send emotions to Kiba like that, he was going to have to do it a lot more. He pulled out a pair of pants at random from his collection in the drawer and slipped out of his pants to put them on, his back to Kiba to retain some facade of privacy.

He heard Kiba crawl onto the bed and start to make himself comfortable.

Kurama joined him once his pants were secured and the light was off. He burrowed under the covers and flipped them over Kiba too, but he didn't snuggle up to Kiba's side like he wanted to. He wanted to give Kiba room to choose whether they were that physical tonight or if it was too soon.

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight Kiba," Kurama mimicked. He didn't feel like sleeping despite how tired he was. He could smell Kiba close to him and the ideas floating through his head were deteriorating faster than sugar in water. Kurama got up after he started thinking more explicitly and went to the bathroom. He needed to calm down and center himself. He needed to push those thoughts out of his mind.

He stood in the bathroom over the sink and splashed his face with water, trying to ease his thoughts back towards nothingness, something that would help him sleep. He tried to meditate, and gradually, he calmed himself back down again. This wouldn't be that different than sleeping with Yusuke, or Kuwabara, or Hiei. He was just attracted to him. He could do this. This was something he could handle. Kurama slowed his breathing, brushed his teeth, and his hair, then went back to his room, pausing once he shut the door. This wasn't sexual. This was just sleep.

Kurama crawled back into his bed and rolled so his back was facing Kiba, hoping that would help. Usually he would go back to back with whomever was in his bed anyway. In Demon World it was a more defensive posture in case they were attacked. In Human World, it was a habit he was loathed to lose.

That helped. Finally, his thoughts drifted away from the hot body behind him, but they swayed towards dangerous waters as he remembered Kuronue. He recalled the first night he slept in the same bed as the bat, and how Kuronue's wings had been so big it had taken them a few tries before they could lay comfortably together. Kurama had gotten a bigger bed after that. Most nights Kuronue would roll over onto his back and stretch out, so Kurama developed a habit of sleeping tucked on top of one of his wings. It didn't help their defensive posture, but it was better than getting wacked in the head by the wing when it stretched out. Kurama missed Kuronue deeply.

"Are you alright?"

Kurama nodded, "Yeah." His voice was a little cracked. He shut his eyes and tried to push the thoughts away, but it felt so fresh.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I was just-" Kurama sat up and rubbed at his face. "Ugh!" he shook his head and flopped back down on his back. "There was this guy we had to fight, some bastard from the Netherworld. He was trying to break the seal on the place, and we were trying to stop it. He tore open some old wounds, and you don't exactly help when I'm not letting myself-" he frowned. How could he say this politely, "When you're not a distraction."

"Hm."

"You remember I told you that you look like someone I used to know?"

"Yeah."

"Well this guy from the Netherworld impersonated him. He made me think that Kuronue's death was my fault. Then he tormented me emotionally to get by my defenses and break the gate. I was just a bit too late figuring out that he wasn't Kuronue. I could have protected the gate, I could have stopped it, but he was cunning. He knew my brain was my weakness, that I could get caught up in the past, and lose the present."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay. It's just that laying here next to you like this reminds me of him. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm not sexually attracted to you because you look like him. I was attracted to him because I have a type I like, and you both fit that bill. I'm not-" He looked over at Kiba, "I'm not dating you because I want you to replace him. I'm dating you because you're what I want in a partner. You will never be Kuronue in my head, you will always be Kiba."

"Thank you."

Kurama sighed and looked back up at the ceiling again watching his pulse tick in the darkness. "It's just that you do look like him, so I started thinking about him and how we used to sleep, the first time we slept together like this." Kurama chuckled. "I nearly took his wing off." The melancholy was thick in his tone.

Kiba rolled over and wrapped his arm around him.

Kurama sighed and turned into the embrace. If he were still his old self, he would have rejected it. He would have wanted to be the one holding so he was in control, but now, he knew the tenderness of being cared for, and he relished the feeling. It helped him push Kuronue out of his mind.

"You're alright."

"Yeah," Kurama agreed. It was nice not having to explain his emotions every two seconds. He enjoyed knowing he was understood. He felt exposed with Kiba, but he wanted that. He wanted someone who could tell when he was faking because he faked it enough with just the human aspect of his life. He needed someone who wouldn't be fooled. It gave him a chance just to act on his emotions rather than acting on expectations of him.

He sighed heavily and snaked an arm over Kiba's waist tucking his head against Kiba's chest and his arm between them supporting his head. He wasn't going to get up very quick like this, but the habit wouldn't die in a night.

Kiba sighed, "I'm here if you need me."

"Thank you, Kiba." That meant a lot to him. He didn't have many people in his life right now who he would believe if they said that. Yusuke surely would want to be there for him, but he wouldn't know how. Kuwabara might have a better idea, but he was limited by his human understanding of the world. Hiei, well, Hiei wouldn't give a shit most days. He wouldn't want to offer. Kurama would have to seek him out for help if he needed it, and then it would be a bartering situation. He would help him if and only if Kurama would give him something in return later, and that was always the agreement. It was a favor tally.

This wasn't that. Kiba wasn't saying that because he wanted a point up, he was saying it because he would honestly be there for him, no strings attached, and Kurama would do the same for Kiba. To the fox, that was honest trust, and he wasn't going to let that go without a fight. As he drifted to sleep, Kurama's dreams were plagued with Kuronue and Kiba running amuck on his emotions symbolized as trophies and people, and the more he struggled to separate the two, the more they would shift and dance together. Eventually Kurama just let them have at since he couldn't do anything about it. That was when his dreams finally started to become more normal and neutral, and he finally stayed asleep for more than a few hours.


	14. Discovery

Riva woke up with a crick in her neck. She had fallen asleep on the couch after Hiei had left, and now she was stiff and sore. She got up and stretched as best she could, but she felt weak, and the power radiating around her from all of the strong demons wasn't helping the situation.

She felt Hiei nearby, still in his bedroom. With an extra yawn, she went searching for the bathroom, and came out feeling fresher than she had in a while. She'd taken the liberty of showering again to help get the slime of the tank off of her skin, and she was finally starting to feel like she got all of it out of her hair. Although her hair bugged her. It was several inches too long. She liked to keep her hair short so no one could grab it and yank her around with it, but right now it was ponytail length. Riva started looking for some scissors.

Hiei came out a few minutes later, yawning loudly as he stretched, "How are you feeling?"

"Good. Where's the nearest portal?" Riva pulled out another drawer in the kitchen and began to paw through it. The drawer was stained with blood and she saw mostly medical supplies in it, so she moved on.

"You're not very strong."

"I can handle myself well enough to get home." She hoped. She didn't want to keep imposing on Hiei for her life, and she didn't really want to stay around all of these strong demons. Maybe if she wasn't afraid of getting identified she would be okay with it, but as it was, she couldn't risk being recognized, and this was a busy place.

"If you say so."

Riva found a knife rather than scissors, but it was too dull to function well. She kept searching.

"What are you looking for?"

"Scissors." Riva replied as she pulled open the fifth drawer. She didn't see any right off, but it was full of long utensils, so she had hope. If she couldn't find a pair, she would resort to the knife. She wasn't going to go running through Demon World with her hair this long, even if it was just down to her shoulders.

"Scissors." Hiei grunted. He stood for a moment before walking over and poking through a drawer or two before he came up with some.

She smiled, "Thank you." She took them from him and retreated into the bathroom to cut her hair. As she snipped away the growth, she began to think about how it had gotten so long. It wasn't typically that long. She had only been in the scientist's lab for a week given how many times they had been there. Why was it this long? Was she missing time? Or was it that the tank grew it out quickly? Maybe it was something the scientists did.

Once her hair was short, she swept up the remnants of her long hair, and dumped it in the waste before coming back out to the living room.

"You cut your hair."

"It's easier to manage this way," she smiled for him and brushed her hand through it roughly, tussling it about. It was back down to her typical cut which just passed her ears, and was layered well enough that none of her hair was very long.

"Hn."

Maybe he didn't like it cut. Riva put the scissors away, ignoring Hiei's judgmental rebuff, and leaned against the counter watching him. Should she ask for breakfast? It didn't really seem fair to put that on him, but she had fed him when he was living with her.

"What do you want to eat?"

She shrugged. She wasn't going to put him out by asking for something in particular. Riva considered telling him she needed to get back home and skipping breakfast altogether.

"What do you like to eat for breakfast?"

"I like most things. I don't really like anything that's a lot of it though. Breakfast is usually too big in Human World. I just want something normally portioned." She made a circle with her thumbs and index fingers to show him the size she was thinking.

"Hn. You can come with me to figure it out."

Come with him? "Oh, no, I should really get going. I might be able to get back to work today if I leave now." She really didn't want to be seen by this place. There were too many people milling about. One of them was bound to recognize her.

"You need to eat so you have energy."

She rubbed her bare neck and grimaced, "Yeah, but I can eat when I get home, or better yet, I'll get something on the way home. I'll pick some fruit or kill something." She nodded and started for the door.

Hiei sighed, "Alright."

When she got to the door she stopped. Her feet were still bare. She wasn't going to run through Demon World without something covering her feet.

"Well?"

"Did you-" she looked around the little apartment trying to find some sort of package. "Did you get shoes?" She caught Hiei's eyes pleadingly.

Hiei stiffened and frowned, "I forgot."

Riva frowned too and lowered her gaze. "Oh. Do you have an extra pair I could borrow?"

Hiei made his way back into his room and she heard him moving stuff around. He came out with a very worn pair and threw them at her feet,"There."

"Thank you." She grinned. These were better than going barefoot. She pulled them on and realized they were a bit big for her. They were at least two sizes too big. They almost slipped off of her feet when she took a step. To fix it, she pulled them off, and looked around for something to stuff in them. "I'm borrowing these too." She grabbed a few dish cloths from the kitchen and stuffed them in the heels of the boots to hold her foot forward. It wasn't a perfect solution, but it worked. The shoes weren't falling off anymore.

"You need better clothes."

Riva had to agree. The cloak was covering the night shirt she'd been wearing, but she could feel the cloak rubbing against her nipple since the night shirt's collar had slipped down and off her boob. The pants weren't much help either. They almost fit her right, but the open bottom and bright colors made them hardly defensive. She tucked the bottom of the night pants into the boots to close them. "It won't be for that long. I just have to get to the portal."

"Hn."

Riva watched him trying to determine if that was supposed to be a positive or negative. She assumed it was an irritation thing again, but maybe he was just unsure what to say. In all the time they'd spent together, she'd still not figured it out. "On a plus side, you were sleeping alone, and I didn't need to warm you up." Or at least Riva assumed he had been sleeping in his room. Maybe he hadn't been.

"I didn't sleep well."

"But you did nap?" She stood up ready to hit the road once Hiei told her where the nearest portal was.

"Sort of."

"That's good. In a few days you should be completely free of it." She was just praying she was right. This hadn't been something she was experienced with. Sure, she knew how long the paralysis took to wear off, and the signs that it was wearing off, but the rest of this was new territory for her.

"Hopefully."

Riva sighed, "One last favor?" she pleaded softly. It always seemed to work with this man. She wasn't sure why, but he seemed to enjoy her gentle demeanor. Not too gentle, not submissive, just, pleading or soothing.

"Of course."

"What direction do I need to go in to get to the nearest portal?" She asked.

Hiei sighed, "Are you sure you're fit to go?"

"I'd rather not stay here that long if I can help it." Riva countered. Her stomach was in knots as it was. Who knows how many people passed by her while she was in the tank. Someone might have recognized her and told him where she was.

"Why?"

Riva chuckled trying to dismiss it, "I left Demon World for a reason, Hiei. I don't want to come back."

"Hn."

He really didn't like that. Riva wasn't sure she should care though. This man was just another guy. Sure, she'd saved his life, but she didn't feel close to him. She felt like he was a job to do, and she had done it. Now it was time to go back to her privacy and quiet.

"Fine."

She waited for him to point or tell her some direction.

"It's south from here, only a few miles." Hiei huffed. He made his way over to the kitchen and started poking around for food.

Riva nodded, "Thank you." She headed for the door, apprehension gripping her. She didn't have a weapon, she didn't have stealth, she didn't even have a lot of energy, but she was better off than she had been in the past. She could do this. It would be hard even if it was just a few miles, but she could do this. Riva hesitated with the door handle in her grasp. "Hiei-" she looked over at him. Maybe it wouldn't matter to him, maybe he would just dismiss it as something trivial and useless, but she wanted to tell someone.

"Thank you for everything. I know you know what I was, and I appreciate you still treating me like a person even though I don't really deserve it."

"I don't know what you were."

She glanced up at him, her eyes drifting back down to her feet again, "You know what you saw. But thank you. I appreciate being treated like you've treated me. You've been nice to be around."

"Then why are you leaving?" Hiei had started making himself some eggs.

Riva drew in a big breath trying to decide how much to tell him, weighing it out, deciding why she was leaving herself, then she shrugged, "I'm just not ready for that kind of fight."

"Why not?"

She shook her head and met his eyes, "It's just too much. You went to Human World, you know the anonymity it provides. I don't want to be someone who can't leave the house for fear of being recognized and here, I am that way."

"Fine."

He sounded hurt. The way he turned his back on her made her think that she'd hurt him somehow, but she wasn't going to stop that. Maybe he wasn't upset. She could try to believe that, right?

"Well, go on then if you're so ready." Hiei plated his eggs.

Yeah, he was hurt. Maybe this would be better for him though. Maybe he wouldn't seek her out if he didn't like her. She turned back to the door and pulled it open, stepping out into the corridor. She glanced left and right trying to find some way out, but this was Demon World, there were no emergency exit signs. She sighed and started to wander keeping her shoulders up and her chin tucked against her chest, so no one would see her face clearly. She should have left her bangs longer.

Hiei waited a few hours before he grabbed the ancient phone the Fox had given him and punched in his number, waiting.

"Minamino Residence," Kurama answered casually.

"Fox, is Riva there?"

"Here? At my house? No. Why? Should she be?"

"I meant, in Human World."

"Oh." Kurama was quiet for a while, "Let me go check." Hiei heard him rushing through town, searching for her, and eventually he stopped somewhere windy, "Nope. She's not here. Actually Hiei, I don't suppose you could convince her to stay in Demon World and keep a low profile, could you? I'd almost like to kill her for the sake of this movement."

"She left already, and you're not killing her after I ran all the way here and saved her."

"No, no, not literally. Just, make it appear in Human World like she died."

"Oh." Hiei considered that, "Well she likes Human World."

"Mm, well maybe you can fix that? You did tell her what we've done, didn't you?"

"No."

Kurama chuckled. "Alright, well go find her and tell her. I'll start searching from my side of things towards your side of things. Who knows, maybe I won't have to kill her off fakery. You might have done it by letting her go alone somewhere."

"Hn." Hiei hung up and started his search. It took all of two seconds because as soon as he closed his eyes and started searching with the Jagan, he saw her almost where he'd left her. He re-dialed the fox again.

"Did you find her that fast?" Kurama asked, shocked.

"She didn't leave the bug."

Kurama laughed, "Well you'd better get to her then. Clearly something went wrong." Kurama hung up.

Hiei opened his front door as Riva walked by it. He snickered, "Riva."

Riva jumped and looked over at him, her eyes drawn huge in shock.

"Get in here."

"But I wasn't going there! I was, wait," she frowned and looked up and down the hallway. "How did you get there?"

Hiei grabbed her arm and dragged her inside his apartment.

She examined it skeptically. "Are they all set up like this?"

"This is my apartment."

"The one I left?"

"Yeah."

"How? I thought I was going straight!"

Hiei laughed.

Riva opened her mouth to chide him but shut it and started to pout instead.

"Anyways, um, the Fox has made you a well-known figure in Human World."

"What do you mean?"

"He's making you famous."

She frowned, "Without my permission?"

"Yeah well." Hiei shrugged, "So sit down and eat something."

Riva's stomach growled, so she didn't protest. Instead, she slipped off the shoes and padded barefoot to the kitchen looking for something to eat.

Hiei followed her and set out some fruits and vegetables for her to pick from.

She did so and started looking for cookware.

"Riva." Hiei summoned.

Riva looked over at him as she pulled out a pan.

"You don't cook it, just eat it."

"Oh. Alright. I guess I'm used to Human World. Everything needs preparing there." She picked out a tart fruit which was full of a sweet juice and cleaned it off.

Hiei chuckled and grabbed a fruit himself.

She looked it over trying to decide how to bite into it.

Hiei waited, biting into his without a second thought.

She saw that and decided to give it a try taking the direct approach.

Hiei leaned against the counter, "So, now what are you going to do?"

She frowned. "What exactly is he doing?"

"He's thinking about 'killing' you. You know when he interviewed you? He's making those into commercials for people to see, and we documented what happened to you and made that into commercials."

She frowned. "What happened to me? You mean the testing?"

"Yeah." Hiei finished his fruit off.

Riva was too distracted in thought to pay much attention to hers, and the liquid dribbled down her hand. When it got to her palm, she looked down at it, and then licked it off. She sucked at the fruit and continued to eat it.

"So yeah, that's what he's thinking."

"I need to talk to him," Riva remarked.

Hiei grabbed the phone off the counter and offered it to her.

She took it and then looked back at him, "Um, I don't know his number."

Hiei rattled it off and she plugged it in. She held the ringing phone to her ear.

Riva set her fruit aside unfinished when Kurama answered. "Yeah, hi Kurama. So, what are you doing?"

"I've made you a trial case basically. The incident with you has become something of a way to publicly shame the institutions here for not protecting someone."

"But you can't do that to me, I agreed to a commercial, not all of that."

"Yeah, but you agreed to let me use the recordings however I saw fit, and this is how I see fit. Plus, what's the worst that could happen? You're already too late to stop it. I mean, you've been unconscious for nearly two weeks."

"But now if I go home people are going to recognize me! That wasn't the goal of moving to Human World, Kurama."

Kurama chuckled, "Being famous isn't something you can change overnight. People are always going to recognize you now Riva. You can either stay in Demon World where it will be for something a while ago or come and face the music. Although, I will have to admit, if you would stay in Demon World it would be a great help to me. Right now, people are having trouble believing you were as seriously injured. If you died, then I could convince them the injuries were worse than what I suggested. It would make you a martyr."

"But I don't want to lose my human life."

Kurama sighed, "Alright, but we should discuss how to bring you back. We can use make up for a while to show the injuries as the humans would expect, but you probably won't be able to return to the police station for work. They have fired Kiba for being involved in this. I doubt they've kept you on the payroll."

"You got me fired?" Riva looked like she was going to cry.

"I don't know for sure, Riva. They might still be willing to keep you on board since this wasn't your choice, but probably not."

Riva sighed heavily and found a chair, plopping down.

"Riva?" Hiei asked skeptically

Riva looked up at him and wiped at her eyes.

"Look, I know this is hard for you, but we've made a lot of progress for demons in Human World thanks to you. Actually, you know what, in return for being able to use your name like this, how about I hire you? I can set you up in Demon World. I could give you pretty much anything you could want there. The one thing I won't do is buy or support the slave trade. Do you think we can come to some agreement to compensate you for your losses here?"

Riva squeezed her eyes shut and her lips pursed together.

Hiei waited.

"If you want somewhere quiet to live, I can buy you a house, or I could buy you a business if you're more interested in that?"

"I was happy where I was."

"Yeah, well, you can't be there anymore like you were. If you don't agree to my plan to fake your death, then I won't do it, but it would be helpful."

"Let me think about it." Riva replied quietly.

"Alright, let me know if you want anything and I'll see what I can do for you."

Riva hung up and set the phone aside staring at her feet as she thought.

"Are you alright?"

"I don't know. This whole thing is kind of shocking. I mean, from my perspective I was just released from the tests yesterday."

"No, you've been out for a while. You were in a coma for a week or two."

"I'm sorry."

"I don't know why you're apologizing."

She frowned and looked at her hands, turning them over, "I don't know either."

Hiei grunted, "Stay here for a while."

She looked up at him, "Here?"

"Yeah."

She frowned again, "No offense Hiei, but I'm not exactly a window monkey like you."

"What do you mean?"

"I've grown accustomed to having some comforts in my life, like a bed."

"I have a bed."

"Right, _you_ have a bed."

Hiei grunted, "Yeah, I could get you one."

"Or I could take Kurama up on his offer and move out."

"Or that, yeah."

Riva worried at her lip, looking back down at her lap again.

"You're free to call him, I'll write down his number."

"Thank you." She nodded. "I need to think about this more."

"Alright." Hiei rummaged around for a piece of paper and wrote down Kurama's number.

Riva took it and looked it over closely before picking up the phone, then setting it down again. She got up and paced, deep in thought.

Hiei watched her. He wasn't sure what she could be in such deep thought about. He was willing to give her a bed and even an apartment if she wanted, and Kurama was too. It was really a decision of living around people or not. Here, she could do whatever. Wherever she went? Who knew. Kurama did. He'd prefer she stayed there, but he really didn't have much stay in the matter. He wanted to see if he really was just lusty or if there was some kind of true emotion there, because he was too screwed up to tell the difference.

"I need to know how people will react to me in Human World." That was her conclusion when she finally stopped pacing.

"Hn." Hiei grunted, "They'll either love you or hate you. If you 'die' you'll be seen as a martyr." Either way she would be well known. There was no doubt about that in his mind. "It's about how you want to be known."

"But what if he's overestimating his influence?"

"He's not."

"How do you know?"

"I've known him for a long time, and he's in the commercials too. They're doing interviews too so, it's going to spread." Hiei nodded.

"Interviews? I did an interview with Kurama, but why would that spread it?"

"He's doing them with the news."

Riva sat back, "Oh. He's doing interviews about the commercials?"

"Yes." Hiei nodded, "He's doing interviews about the commercials. How did you get kidnapped?"

"Kidnapped?" Riva frowned.

"You know, this whole thing with the scientists."

"Oh, I wasn't kidnapped," she shook her head. "I was cleaning there. I'm their janitor when I'm not cleaning the police building."

Hiei wanted to groan, "Are you serious?"

"Yeah. I saw they were going to start torturing that poor demon girl and I offered to take her place. I didn't want to see her hurt."

"Hn." Hiei grunted. The story was better with her being kidnapped though, so he wouldn't tell her the story was somewhat false. To all their knowledge she'd been kidnapped.

"You sounded like you knew her."

"I do." Hiei could feel himself close off. He looked away from her and focused on the wall of the bug instead. He was hoping she'd drop it and move on.

"I was pretty sure they were just going to run the experiments twice once they started." Riva sighed.

"I don't want to hear it. She means a lot to me." Hiei grunted. He got up and started poking in the fridge for chocolate. He really needed to restock his stash, but he had a few chocolate bars left so he grabbed one and started nibbling on it.

"Doesn't everyone?" Riva asked quietly.

"Not everyone."

"No?" Riva studied him a little closer.

"No."

She stepped back, and turned away from him, folding her hands behind her back, which just accented her hips and butt.

"What are you doing?"

"It's just, a lot of people might not mean anything emotionally," she started, stretching her back, "But people are always worth something."

"Sometimes they're worth more dead."

She nodded, "Yeah, sometimes, but even those people mean a lot to someone."

"Does it matter?" Hiei huffed.

"I suppose not." She stopped stretching and retreated back towards the couch.

Hiei felt Mukuro charge her energy and direct it at him. She wanted his attention. It was almost like a summons, but she wasn't using her words.

Hiei waited for a moment, "Mukuro wants me for something. I'll be back."

"Alright." Riva's voice was quiet.

Hiei left and made his way to where he felt Mukuro's energy, shoving his hands into his pockets. He was just wondering what sort of new thing she was going to scream at him for now.

When he started tracking down her energy, he realized she wasn't even in her office. She was in her room. He really wasn't looking for the beating that was going to ensue, but he continued anyways. He was just wondering why she'd want to put a hole in her roof.

Hiei pushed open Mukuro's door only to stop dead in his tracks. She was laying on her bed, per usual when he was in her room, but she wore little more than a lacy nightgown which was draped across her body like silk, and she was staring straight at him.

"Mukuro?" Hiei stepped back for the door, for some form of sanity.

"I was thinking about your problem, Hiei, and I realized something."

"Go on."

"If it is a sexual attraction," She stood up and slowly slunk her way over to him, "then getting it out of your system might be as simple as distracting your," she glanced down, "overactive imagination, with something real."

Hiei wasn't sure if he should run, so he stayed put with a hand on the door, "Since when were you one for sex?"

"Mm, I'm usually not, but if it gets her out of my house faster," Mukuro shrugged.

"So, you just want her gone." Hiei huffed.

"Hiei," Mukuro tipped her chin down and stood an arm's length away, her hip popped up showing off the curves she still had, "Don't you want to know?"

"Hn."

"Look at it this way Hiei, either you give in, and we have some fun, safe fun where you're not in danger of some street whore killing you afterwards, or you keep pining away not knowing if you're attracted to her, or her genitals."

Hiei wasn't sure if he wanted to glare or not, but she had a point.

She shrugged, "The offer stands." She turned back to her bed and swayed her hips as she walked back to it, then turned and sat, crossing her robotic leg over her real one.

Hiei was still trying to decide if this was really a good idea or not. Mukuro was probably one of the most gorgeous women he knew, but it wasn't just that. She was strong, both in muscle and will. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't curious, he just wasn't sure if he actually wanted to give in to the temptation.

"Hiei, you and I both know that this is because of Riva. I'm letting you have me as a substitute to relieve your mental blockage about this girl. No one else can do that for you."

She was right. Hiei closed the door and started over to her, undoing his belts.

Mukuro smirked and nodded. "I see we have a decision." She flicked off the lights.


	15. The Lanky Klutz

Kiba sighed as he ran his hand through his hair as he made his way back to Kurama's. The interview had thrown him off, but he was hopeful still.

He only got half way there when a car pulled up beside him, and he felt Kurama's energy from the driver's seat.

Kiba smiled and opened the car door, sliding in, "Hello." He offered.

"Hello stranger." Kurama reached over and put a hand on his leg, smiling. "I saw the interview. That didn't go too bad." Kiba could feel the familiar deep care swarm over Kurama's emotions. It was like walking into a soft fuzzy blanket.

"No? I was hopeful." Kiba gave him a soft smile, "I was a little worried, his nervousness was rubbing off on me." He chuckled and rubbed at his neck. He could still feel it fluttering about in his bones despite the warm blanket of Kurama's care.

"You didn't appear nervous if you were."

"Good." Kiba nodded, "So, what are we doing now?" He smiled. He liked the way it made Kurama feel.

Sure as shit, once Kurama got a chance to glance over, he was all a twitter again. "Well, I thought a nice lunch at home would suit us well given our popularity right now."

"That sounds nice." Kiba nodded, grabbing his seatbelt and clipping it in, "What are you thinking for lunch?" He glanced over at the man and felt his chest warm. Most of the time when people liked him it was sexual, and a lot of it had been sexual from Kurama up until a certain point where it'd changed, and he'd been surprised. It made him feel more comfortable around the man knowing he wasn't just a sexual object. He leaned over and kissed his cheek.

That made it sexual in seconds. Kurama smiled over at him anyway. "I have some chicken."

"Oh, that sounds good."

"I was going to make it a stir fry."

Kiba nodded, glancing around as they drove. He was wondering when his physical affections would stop being sexual. They always would be to a point, but there was a point they wouldn't be as sexual.

"I doubt the demons will believe that story, but the humans should."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. And there's no reason for a demon to contradict it."

"Good."

"Riva made me nervous when she said someone might be looking for her. I'm just glad she agreed to let us do this."

"Me too." Kiba nodded.

"Were you aware she was here hiding from someone?"

"No."

"Even with your empathy?"

"Empathy, not mind reading. I could tell she was anxious sometimes, but always figured it was just the police."

"Ah." Kurama was a little jealous at that.

Kiba glanced over at him, not entirely understanding his jealousy. He dismissed it.

A few minutes later, Kurama was suddenly embarrassed. He pulled into his driveway and parked his car. "It's just, I mean, she's better at hiding than I am if you couldn't even tell she was hiding from someone. Everyone pegs me right off."

"Hm." Kiba undid his seatbelt and got out of the vehicle.

Kurama led him inside and started working on lunch in the kitchen. Kiba sat at the table watching him as he worked. He looked around the kitchen even though he'd already done so numerous times already.

"So," He offered.

"So," Kurama agreed, "I don't suppose you have a game plan after this point, do you?"

"No." Kiba shook his head.

Kurama sighed, "Me neither. I can work on the documentary, but," he shrugged.

Kiba chuckled, "Yeah." He wasn't sure where to go from there. He didn't work anymore, and he wasn't sure what to do. "Kurama."

Kurama's feelings of warmth and tenderness swelled. He looked over at his boyfriend, meeting his eyes. "Yes Kiba?"

"I'm not sure what to do."

Kurama sighed and rocked his head a little as he thought, watching what he was doing. "Well, I think what we have to do is prove there is a problem that's bigger than just Riva. Basically, use her as a bouncing board. For instance, we need to get the latest report of death tolls by police hands and go through the cause of death for the demons to find out how many could have been prevented if they didn't put sutras on them."

"Alright." Kiba nodded.

"We should also probably begin to document how many demons are in Human World, and the affects the tags have for them when they go home."

"That's a good idea."

"I mean, this thing feeds off of our energy. That has to have some side effects."

"Of course."

"And while we're at that, we should also play hacky sack in the dark room for a while," Kurama remarked just as casually as the others.

"Oh?"

"Yes, it's the only way to really know if you're any good."

"You have doubts about my abilities?"

He shrugged, "A few. You might get overwhelmed."

"Oh, really?"

"They say the dark heightens the other sense."

"So, you really want to have sex with me, huh?"

Kurama almost giggled. He could feel the mirth boiling over in the fox. He glanced back sheepishly at him. "Well of course. You're my boyfriend."

"So, do you want my ass or my dick?" Kiba smirked.

Kurama flushed and had to consider that. "Either would be alright I think. In another life I wouldn't let you anywhere near my ass, but I've mellowed out since those controlling days."

Kiba chuckled.

That pushed Kurama over the edge and he laughed as well. He plated their lunch and brought it over to him, setting his plate in front of him. "Here you go."

"Mm, thank you." Kiba started nibbling on his lunch.

"You're welcome."

Kiba smiled. They ate their lunch in silence. When they were finished they settled in the living room to watch some TV.

They settled down and Kiba tugged Kurama close to his side, wrapping his arm around his shoulders, "Would you tell me about Kuronue?"

Kurama sighed and leaned into his boyfriend. "Kuronue? What is there to tell? I mean, he was full of himself. He loved to adventure. He was always getting into trouble because he'd go climbing or flying somewhere and get stuck. I had to hoist him out of a gully more than once because he couldn't open his wings once he got down."

Kiba chuckled, "What kind of wings did he have?"

"Flappy ones?" Kurama frowned. "It never really mattered. They were wings."

Kiba nodded, "So you said you have a type and we both fit that bill," Kiba offered, pausing for a moment as he watched Kurama, "So what was super similar between the two of us?"

"Mm, long black hair, lean features, good structure. I don't really like muscular types, like Kuwabara or Hiei, I like men who are more lean and elegant."

"You think I'm elegant?" Kiba laughed softly, "I don't think I'm very elegant."

"You move smoothly, and your long limbs accentuate that movement," Kurama countered.

"Hm. Here I always feel like I'm just bumping into things."

Kurama chuckled, "The world just isn't big enough for you."

Kiba chuckled too and shook his head, "I suppose that's one way to look at it."

Kurama smiled, "It's the only way to look at it."

"Yeah?"

"Otherwise I'm attracted to lanky klutzes."

Kiba laughed, "I think that's, true. I'm a bit of a klutz." He smiled and rubbed Kurama's shoulder, "You? You're pretty damn elegant."

"I know, but I'm not attracted to me. I mean, I like some of my characteristics, that's why I've kept them as they are, but in the end, I'm either too muscular or too bright."

"You don't turn yourself on?" Kiba teased.

Kurama chuckled and shook his head, "No."

"That's alright," Kiba kissed his cheek and rested their heads together, closing his eyes.


	16. Home Away

Riva pulled open the blinds letting the light shine through and glint off of the sparkling weapons she had on display around the long, thin room. She unlocked the door and stepped back behind the counter, pulling out her book. She'd been running the shop for about a week now, and she'd gotten some profit, but she spent it to replace the weapons she'd bought to begin with. She was relying on the garden for food, along with a late-night hunt to keep her meat supply up. After all, the nearest village was about a day's walk, and she couldn't afford to leave the shop for that long. It'd get robbed. This might be The Fool's Forest, but people would still take advantage of an empty house.

The door opened, and a familiar face stepped in, "Riva?"

Riva smiled, "Hello Hiei," she greeted. He'd visited her twice already despite having only been gone for seven days.

"How's it going so far?"

"Same as before."

"Ah." Hiei nodded, looking around.

"What has brought you back so soon?" She was honestly curious. She hadn't expected to see Hiei back at all, but the frequency was beginning to make her second-guess how he looked at her. Maybe he thought she was an invalid he had to protect or something.

"I just wanted to see how you're doing." Hiei made his way through the little shop looking at everything as he went.

It was set up with a long glass counter showcasing her expensive weapons dividing the room. She had a polishing counter behind the showcase, and all around the upper walls were weapons hanging in wall mounts.

"Have you met the smith who makes these?"

"Some of them."

"Mm."

Riva felt her heart sink. "I'm sorry. It's not what you're looking for is it? That's why you keep coming back. You're looking for a new weapon."

"No."

She frowned. "It's alright to admit it. I mean, I would probably go to a different store, one with more of a reputation, but I understand. You don't have to pretend, Hiei."

"I don't need a new weapon."

"Then what can I do for you?"

"I just wanted to see you."

"Oh."

Hiei sighed, "I know it may seem odd."

She wanted to nod and agree with him that it seemed odd, but it more than seemed odd, it was odd.

"I just, I don't know."

"Neither do I," Riva replied bluntly. Maybe he would stop acting strange if she stopped acting so submissive. Maybe he was attracted to that, but not her.

"Yeah."

"Why do you come back here if you don't know?"

Hiei shrugged, "I'm hoping I'll find out."

"Okay, but find out what?"

Hiei sighed, "It doesn't matter."

"If that was true, you wouldn't be here."

"You're right." Hiei nodded.

"So why do you keep coming back Hiei? What is it you want from me?"

Hiei glanced back at her and sighed, but he didn't answer.

Riva sighed and sat back down on her stool behind the counter. If he wasn't going to talk to her, then she wasn't going to talk to him. She wanted to know something simple, but he wasn't going to give it to her. Why? What possible reason could he have for withholding the reason he was there?

"Are you worried I'll uncover some of Mukuro's secrets?"

"What secrets are there?"

She shrugged, "That the main hallway is a circle even though it doesn't look like it's curved."

He laughed.

Riva flushed. She still felt like a fool. She had been walking around Mukuro's trying to find an exit for hours assuming she was in the main corridor heading straight, when in fact, it was a gradually turning circle, so she had just gone in a loop again, and again, and again, and never noticed the labels on the doors were repeating. They were split up north south east west going from one to however many they needed in a clockwise motion.

"The truth, Riva, is that I like you."

"Oh." So, he just wanted her company. "Well I can't complain about you taking up my shop hours." If it was busy she could, but it wasn't and it probably wouldn't be. There were already so many amazing shops for weapons that she doubted this one would take root.

He chuckled.

"So, what do you want to talk about?" It felt awkward to know that he liked her when they barely conversed. She had conversations with the man, sure, but usually they were fleeting and brief. Why would he like her?

"I don't know."

Yup, this was going to be another one of those fleeting conversations. It felt like it was over before it begun. How could he like her when he barely knew her?

"Do you, um, like me at all?"

She nodded trying to play this casually, "You're a nice man Hiei." He didn't rape her. That was always a plus.

"That's all?"

"Well, I mean, you're gentle with me, which I like. You don't often get loud about things. What more do you want me to say? We're talking about emotions in the middle of Demon World."

"So?"

She frowned, "What do you mean 'so'?" He said that like she was supposed to tell him some sort of choice.

Hiei sighed.

She sat forward leaning on the display, watching him intently. "Hiei," she prompted, "just tell me."

"Just, we can talk about emotions in Demon World." Hiei nodded, "But would you, like me enough to, I don't know." He sighed.

She waited him out.

"Come back to Mukuro's? See if I can sort it out?"

"Sort what out?"

"Mukuro doesn't like you."

"Yeah, I know. I get it to, I mean, clearly I'm not the type of person she wants to deal with."

"No." Hiei nodded.

"So why would you try to force that?"

"Because I like you."

"So? I mean, we don't always get to keep what we like. It's not like it's that big of a thing. You probably like Mukuro too. I mean, isn't _she_ more important to you?"

"I don't know if she is, romantically speaking."

Riva frowned. Romantically speaking? When did they start talking romantically? Is that why he was saying that so often? Was he saying he liked her romantically? No, it couldn't be. That wouldn't make sense. Why would he like her like that? She waited for him to go on.

"I like you, Riva."

"But you like Mukuro."

"Not romantically."

She shook her head, "No, you do. You slept with her."

"Because I was horny."

"Why would you sleep with someone if you didn't..." she shook her head again, "No, that's not right."

"She offered, and I had sex with her. It was fun, but that was it."

Riva sighed this time. "But you're-, you've not been like that. You haven't taken advantage of me at all. Why would you do that?"

"Why would I do what? Have sex with Mukuro? She wanted to have sex."

Riva groaned, "Don't you see? This just doesn't make sense."

"How?"

"Why would you sleep with someone without cause? I mean, if you weren't romantically attracted to the, what would be the draw?"

"I've always been curious about sex with Mukuro, and I was lusting." He shrugged.

"I don't understand. You were just in it for the sex? That's it? I mean, it couldn't have been about control. She's stronger than you."

"She is stronger." Hiei nodded, "It was just about the sex."

Riva frowned. "What would be the point in that?"

"Pleasure." Hiei shrugged, "It felt good."

"Does it?" Riva couldn't believe what she was hearing. Why would something as violent as that feel good?

"Yeah." Hiei nodded.

Riva didn't contradict him. "So, if you were feeling lustful, then how do you know you weren't just attracted to me because I have a vagina?"

"Because I had sex with Mukuro."

Riva sighed in frustration, "I don't understand this Hiei."

"What don't you understand?"

"Why would having sex with Mukuro stop you from lusting after me?"

"Because I got my fill."

She shook her head, "I'm not sure I believe you Hiei. You sound like you're spinning fantasies. "

"How?"

"Well, first of all, sex doesn't feel good. It's vicious, and bloody, and probably one of the worst experiences you could give someone. You're here saying it's good and fun, and something to do just because it feels good, and apparently Mukuro agrees with you. Second-"

"It's not bad if you do it with the right person, Riva. You're describing rape."

"It's not like the men I've done it with had porcupines for penises Hiei."

"You're describing rape."

Riva sighed, "But it's the same act. How could one feel good and the other not?"

"Because rape is done without want, and when people rape you they generally don't prepare you, to have sex. That's why it can be painful. With pleasure sex, you sort of," Hiei sighed, "Seduce the other person into it and make it so it feels good."

"How would that help? I mean, what could you possibly do to make that any easier?"

Hiei sighed, "I could show you." He chuckled at himself, "You just do different things."

"No."

"Like you, stretch, and, work things loose." Hiei shrugged.

Riva sighed heavily and shook her head, "I don't think I'm ready for this Hiei. I don't know the first thing about any of this and it's a bit overwhelming."

"Yeah." Hiei sighed.

"So, barring advancement in that, what would you like to talk about?"

"Do you like me?"

She shook her head, "I can't say I feel romantically attracted to you, no."

Hiei sighed, "Alright." He looked around, "I'll, uh, see you later." He headed for the door.

Riva nodded, "Alright. Goodbye Hiei."

"Goodbye, Riva." Hiei left.


	17. Happy Fox

Thank you to all of our loyal readers! Thanks especially to Jessica for always encouraging posts and reviewing every time I published something. These are the last two chapters of the fanfiction!

If you enjoyed our writing of Hiei and Kurama, please check out our other co-written fics, New Hires on my account and if you look at my profile Favorited authors, you can find ArmrodaRay to see Do Not Trust the Detective, The isolation Proclamation, Energetic Conundrums, and Split Three Ways.

 **Most** **importantly** if there is something you want more of, like more Riva/Hiei, more Kiba/Kurama, let me know! I will either fish out a fic from our deep well of old finished stories, or we'll write a new one special just for you! Either review a fic, or send me a PM!

Tell us what you like, tell us what you don't like, we take requests. [Mostly because we're always hurting for story ideas but we love to write together.] Same thing if you have questions like who writes what, or about the characters or our interpretations, we love chatting with YYH lovers 3

 _Until Next Time! Aley and Army_

* * *

Kiba started opening the door to Kurama's house. He'd finally given him a key, so he could come and go as he needed to. He stepped in and closed the door behind himself, "Kurama?"

Kurama wasn't in sight when Kiba entered, but he could feel him nearby. He was somewhere in the house, but not somewhere Kiba could see him.

Kiba followed him energy, curious what he was doing, "Kurama? I'm here."

Kurama didn't reveal himself, but Kiba could feel him. He felt the comfortable blanket of warm fuzziness, but also a delicate fluttering, and a deep passion all wrapped up together. It felt like it was going to make him explode if he couldn't find Kurama soon.

Kiba made his way to the bedroom and poked open the door, "Kurama?"

Kurama was poking at the vase of flowers. He was adjusting it back and forth on the empty dresser top, and Kiba could see that the fox had been doing some redecorating. There was a new shelf up, for one, and the pictures and books which used to sit on the dresser were stuffed up there or laying on the bed. It was odd for Kurama to leave something untidy, so that told Kiba that Kurama really was feeling something different. He wasn't paying attention to things like he usually would, he was responding to his feelings instead.

Kiba smiled and made his way into the room, coming up to Kurama's side, "Do you like them?"

Kurama smiled softly, looking up at him, then just leaned into the man. If Kiba didn't wrap him up in his arms, he would've fallen over. Kurama patted Kiba's arm and looked back at the flowers again, "Yes. They're perfect."

"I'm glad you like them so much." Kiba chuckled a little, "I thought they were pretty."

Kurama chuckled and reached out scooping up the card that Kiba had stuck with them. He flipped it open, and Kiba noticed that it was already showing wear marks on the seam. Obviously Kurama had been looking at it a lot. It had been a few hours since Kurama would have gotten home, and he'd tossed his bedroom into chaos aside from the top of the dresser where he was making some little display of the vase, and apparently the card. When Kiba first walked in, he hadn't noticed that Kurama kept the card, but there it was. "Where'd you get them?" He wasn't looking at the vase even though he asked about it. He was reading the card again.

"Oh, I was just out and about and stumbled upon them."

Kurama finished the card, and Kiba felt his feelings swell and grow with joy. He wasn't sure if it was what he said, or what he'd written that caused the change, but it was one of them. It had to be. It was strange to hear the fox so quiet.

Kiba rubbed his arm, "Kurama?"

"Yeah?" He looked up at him, gently folding the card closed.

"You're very quiet." Kiba smiled.

"Thank you for the gift, and the card. It really meant a lot to me to have that when I came home from the courthouse."

"I can tell."

Kurama chuckled, "It was time for some redecorating. Is there anything you want to display?"

"Oh, no. I don't have a lot of display stuff."

"We'll fix that." Kurama kissed his cheek, then got out of his hold in one smooth motion, placed the card down in front of the vase, but angled a little to the side and propped open on its edge to stay put, and then went for the bed. He started putting the stuff on the bed, old books, awards, and some pictures away in a box he pulled out from beneath the bed. When he finished, he examined the shelf, pulled off a few things so it was just a couple pictures left on it, then added those things to the box as well. He stuffed the box back under the bed.

"So, what is your plan?"

"My plan? Well I'm going to get you something special to display so you're represented in my home." Kurama announced and checked on the room's chaos level again. He started putting away the tools he'd used to put up the shelf.

"I await to see what it is." Kiba smiled.

"It might be a long wait. I have to find something just as-" he looked at the flowers again, or was it the card? Kiba couldn't tell. "Something just as sweet."

Kiba smiled and settled on the bed, "I'm glad it made you so happy."

"It did. The hearing didn't go so well. The judge wasn't willing to listen to testimony from some of my character witnesses, and some of my evidence was thrown out as circumstantial."

"I'm sorry."

"How did your thing go?"

"It was, alright." Kiba sighed, "I'm glad to be here though."

"What made it just alright?"

"I'm a demon." Kiba chuckled.

"Oh, so did that make it alright because it made it better, or alright because it made a good thing worse?"

"They don't like me."

"Yeah, that sucks. Too bad for them though, they don't know what they're missing." Kurama kissed his cheek again.

Kiba smiled and leaned up, kissing him back. He tugged on his arm for him to sit beside him.

Kurama sat down and leaned against him. Kiba wrapped his arm around him and rested their heads together, "I'm sort of glad you got found out, you know? Otherwise I wouldn't have met you."

Kurama chuckled. "Well you would have been treating Hiei and Hiei would have introduced us since he lives here."

"That's true." Kiba kissed his cheek and nuzzled against it, happy, "So, Kurama."

"Yes Kiba?" Kurama nuzzled him back.

"Would you like to eat some dinner and then maybe play in the sheets?"

"Play in the sheets?" Kurama sat back and looked him in the eye. "What brought that on?"

Kiba smiled, "I realized today that you love me."

Kurama's eyes widened, "I what now?"

Kiba nodded, "Yeah."

"Oh." Kurama sat upright, "I didn't realize that's what this was."

"Yeah, that's what it was." Kiba agreed.

"Was? Is. I still love you. Did I say was?" Kurama frowned and his melancholy came back.

"No, it was just very intense earlier. Is." Kiba offered, "Was, very intense. Is love."

Kurama chuckled. "That's still a shock to me. I must have loved Kuronue too. I felt this way about him too. I mean, it was different. I was always more-" he frowned, trying to think of the word. "I was a different person, and so was he. This is gentler. My time with Kuronue was very intense."

Kiba smiled and nodded.

Kurama sighed and got up. "Let's get dinner. You can tell me about how your day went in more detail."

"Alright." Kiba stood and took his hand. He was excited about the new feeling of love rather than sexual tension that always seemed to roll off the man, "I waited to have sex with you this long because I wanted to know if it was just sexual or not."

Kurama laughed, "I wouldn't have asked you out if it was just sexual. I mean, you do know who I am right? I could have just seduced you and been done with you if it was just sexual."

"I know, but I wanted to make sure."

Kurama pulled him into a hug and kissed him softly on the lips. It was tender and sweet. "I'm sorry I made you doubt me, but I'm glad it's over now."

"You don't need to apologize for it."

"But make up sex is the best." Kurama wiggled his eyebrows at the man.

"Oh, is it now?" Kiba chuckled and pulled him into another hug, rubbing his back. He was excited to see what the development would bring for them. He leaned down and kissed Kurama a little deeper. He let them kiss for a minute before he leaned back and smiled, "I'm looking forward to this, Kurama." He could feel his own fuzzy blanket of love start to grow in his chest, so he amplified it for Kurama to feel, "That's my love."

Kurama flushed and grinned, "I love you too Kiba."

Kiba chuckled and kissed him again, "I'm glad." He dragged him away to the kitchen to talk about their future.


	18. Happy Fire

Riva woke up to a shock of cold water. She shivered, her teeth chattering, and looked around the stone cellar feeling dejected and weak. Everything in her body ached like she'd been put in a freezer, beaten, and then tossed as far from light as she could get, and that wasn't too far from the truth.

The cellar door opened streaming light down the stairwell. A smaller man walked in carrying a heavy blanket over his shoulder, and a bowl of something steamy and warm in his hands. He came down to her, and held out the bowl, "Riva," he greeted softly.

Riva shied away from him, covering herself. She wore nothing but a polyester jumpsuit with leather belts around her upper legs, mid-thigh, calf, and ankles, and her upper arm, mid bicep, the middle of her lower arm, and around her wrist. She had a dainty golden choker around her neck which trailed down between her boobs, which were almost completely exposed. The low V was taped up, so it would stop exposing her boob right by her nipple and it extended down almost to her navel.

Rejecting the food was hard anyway. She hadn't eaten in almost a week, and she didn't imagine she would be eating any time soon. Her teeth chattered harder as she curled down facing the floor, tucking her legs under her to curl up in a more fetal position. The heavy chain which attached her to the floor clattered, and its ankle cuff rubbed her raw skin.

"Riva, I'm here to help you. I'm here to make you better. It's not my fault you're a bad girl, but you are. You were asking me to punish you, so I did. I was just doing what you wanted. It wasn't my choice to throw you in the freezer. You're the one who refused to dance. It was your problem."

Riva started crying, her body shaking with her tears. This wasn't real, this couldn't be real, not again. Not now. She had been free of this. She had gotten away, and now she was back. Being away from this had to be a coma-dream, she'd heard about those from Suzy Q. She was right. It was just the little people whispering dreams in her head.

"If you don't eat, I'll put you back in there, Riva."

This was never going to end. It was his mad vicious voice again, it was his angry one. He was going to do it, he was going to drag her back up there and throw her back in the freezer. She cried harder, but she couldn't get her voice to work.

"God you've gotten so fucking soft!" He kicked her hard in the side and Riva flew away from him, forgetting to lean into it to stop from going flying. Her ankle screamed in pain when it stopped her from hitting any of the shelves, and she lay sprawled out on the ground from the force of the kick.

No one was going to rescue her, no one was going to come. She was stuck here in this hell, and it was her fault. It could be nice if she'd just cooperate, but she couldn't. The dream had been so wonderful. There were people there who cared about her.

Riva started crying again. The only care she'd ever get without attachment was the care of her imagination, and even then, she had been too stupid to accept it.

The chain stopped rattling and jerking, and she felt the stone floor dragging against her back, soon, she'd go bumping up the stairs, and then across the icy floor.

The cellar door was slammed open and a black figure made its way down the stairwell. The man before her collapsed to the floor headless, before the familiar voice came, "Riva?"

No, this was fake, this wasn't happening. Riva's breathing picked up and she stiffened. He had been the one orchestrating her fantasies. She was in deeper than she thought, or maybe her head had knocked so hard against the ground that she was in a coma again. This wasn't real. He couldn't be here.

"Riva, come on." He grabbed her arm and hauled her to her feet, "We need to get out of here."

This was a test, it had to be a test. Riva reached forward and touched his cheek, but her legs were weak, and she fell forward against him, her arm dropping, heavy. He had to be here to convince her to run away with him, so her father could punish her for it again, that had to be it. There was no other reason Hiei could be here.

Riva started crying. "No, no, I won't go. I'll be a good girl. I will." If she didn't, he might lock her in a freezer for a year, she shook just thinking about it. He'd be good to her if she was good to him. He'd be good too, if she'd just listen.

"Riva!" Hiei barked. He scooped her up and bolted back up the stairs. He left the building in seconds once he was on the floor.

Riva cried harder and turned her face into him. He felt so warm. She missed being warm. Warm was a figment of her past, something she'd forgotten. It felt like the scent of grass in spring after all the snow had finally melted, and the birds were coming back to do the nasty. She missed birds. They were so honest. If a baby bird wasn't worth it, or got sick, they'd just kill it and throw it out of the nest rather than torturing it with trying to keep it alive.

They ran for a few minutes before Hiei stopped and sighed, "You're out of there now."

Riva cried harder and shook her head, "No, no, I won't be a bad girl. I promise. I promise, just take me back and I'll be good." She felt the snot and tears choking her.

"Oh, shut it. I'm not taking you back." Hiei snapped, "I got you out for a reason, so you're not going back."

"But he's going to-"

"He's dead." Hiei huffed.

"What are you talking about," she scolded, "He doesn't die."

"I killed everyone in there."

"He doesn't die. He can't die. He's got a deal with the devil. The devil won't take him."

"Well he did die, I watched him die and you're sputtering nonsense like a human!" Hiei shouted, "We are demons! We can't make deals with devils, we may as well be devils!"

"I'm sorry," Riva cried harder again, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I'll be good. I'll be good, just please, don't hurt me. Don't put me back in the freezer."

"I won't hurt you." Hiei huffed.

She relaxed, and her body started shaking viciously as she began to release some of the tension.

Hiei sighed and looked around, "We're going back to Mukuro's."

When he started off, Riva was jerked free from his hold, falling to the ground hard. She felt like her ankle was broken, but she knew better. She knew it was just the chain. Why was she chained to the woods? Was she supposed to be food for someone? Riva's breathing picked up and she crawled towards her chain, which had been caught on a big log's broken branch. She tried to burrow under the log for some sort of protection from whatever monster her father was going to sacrifice her to. The dirt was warm in her frozen hands, and the grass soft on her bloody feet.

It was a few minutes before she heard footsteps, "Riva?"

She closed her eyes and pushed herself down into her hole trying to be dirt for a while. If she could just be dirt, then no one would try to hurt her. Dirt was walked on sometimes, but mostly, people left it alone.

"Riva." A hand grabbed her arm, "Come on."

She didn't move a muscle or tense it. If she couldn't be dirt, she'd be a corpse. She wasn't there, she wasn't alive.

"Ugh, come on." He dragged her out of her hole, "Riva, you're an idiot sometimes." Hiei scolded.

Riva felt another arm around her and snapped. She couldn't take it. She couldn't go back! She lashed out with her fingernails at his face and pushed out with her energy to knock him back.

"Riva! What the hell!"

She kicked him hard in the chest and backed away, glaring at him.

Hiei unsheathed his sword but flipped it sideways like a club and came after her, smashing it down, but Riva put her arm up, and threw her leg at his head, but it hasn't the leg that was the weapon, the chain which had caught her to the fallen log whipped around and came at his shoulder and back arching over him with her attack, and it was thick metal. Each link was about the size of Hiei's wrist, and the cuff which had chained her to the floor was at least three inches in height and an inch thick.

Hiei jerked around and blocked the chain with his sword. It wrapped around it from its momentum and Hiei yanked hard on it, throwing her forward. Riva caught herself on her hands, and threw herself back towards him ass-first, her leg sliding along the blade of his sword, and gouging. Her intent wasn't obvious, but she popped back with such force, and with her feet towards him, that when both feet connected with his stomach, he fell backwards, and she rolled off of him over his head, planting the sword into the ground, but that also pinned her leg. She got upright and started trying to unwrap her chain from the sword rather than pull the sword from the ground.

Hiei could see that the blade was eating into her leg by her knee both on her thigh and calf since her leg was folded awkwardly.

Hiei grabbed her other leg and tugged, rolling up and pulled it out from under her. He twisted it and nearly flung himself on top of her, digging his knees into her legs and grabbed her arms, keeping her there with his body weight.

Riva screamed loudly and struggled with him, but she was quickly wearing herself out.

" _Riva, why are you screaming?"_

"No! No! Go away, go away! You're not real! You're fake!" She tried to lash out with her teeth, but Hiei prevented that by grabbing her choker, and slamming his hand to the ground behind her head. It held her down.

" _Yes, I am real, now shut up and think for a second."_

Riva started to hyperventilate as she stared up at him, her eyes wide with terror.

" _What do you think I'm going to do?"_

"I'm going to die, I'm going to get raped and die," Tears welled in her eyes as her pupils dilated, nearly losing all of the color in her eyes.

" _I'm not going to rape you, and I'm not going to kill you unless you try to kill me. Wake the fuck up Riva."_

"No, no, it was a dream, you were a dream. You might look like him, you might sound like him, but you're not him. You can't be him. I made him up." she closed her eyes and turned her head away from him, towards his arm, her lips pressing against it, but she didn't bite him.

" _You're an idiot. I'm real, otherwise, how could I be here pinning you, and how would I know your name? You had a shop over in the Forest of Fools and some jackass decided to kidnap you."_

"No, I didn't, I was in his freezer. That wasn't real." She tucked her head down so the bridge of her nose was tucked against his wrist and she could talk.

Hiei sighed heavily, _"You're so quick to make brash assumptions about the world you live in. Typical for a slave, but you're not a slave, Riva."_

"I'm a dancer. That's all I am. I'm a dancer."

" _No, you're whatever you want to be."_

Riva started crying softly, her little body shaking under him. "Please, I don't know what you want from me. You tell me to be good, you go to these extremes. It hurts. It hurts so bad to see him, to smell him. Please, just stop it. I can't take this."

" _I want you to wake up, you idiot. I don't want you to be a good girl or a bad girl, I want you to be Riva."_

Riva started crying harder, but it wasn't the frantic crying she'd been doing earlier, somehow, he could tell it was gentler, weaker. Her energy was gradually starting to calm down.

Hiei sighed but kept his hold on her.

She ran out of tears after just a couple minutes and lay beneath him panting for breath and coughing up the phlegm in her lungs and throat.

"Are you going to attack me, or can I let you go?"

"You feel like Hiei," she whispered.

"I am Hiei, dimwit."

"But, I woke up. I woke up and I was in that hell."

"Yeah, because some jackass had to kidnap you and put you there."

She tried to roll away from him, and when he didn't move, she started to struggle again.

"Riva, tell me." Hiei sighed, "Are you going to attack me or not when I let you go?"

"No! I won't tell you shit!" Riva barked angrily at him, glaring up at him.

Hiei sighed, "Why are you yelling at me? I'm saving your ass."

"You're trying to rape me! You're just here to get your fill then you'll drag me back there and give me back to my dad!"

"If I was trying to rape you, I'd have your breast in my mouth and my dick up your vagina, are either of those things happening?"

She had to think about that one. The response was weak, "No."

"Right, so am I trying to rape you?"

"You're taking your time." She looked away from him again, the choker he still held to the ground biting into her neck and scratching it as she moved her head.

Hiei smirked, "I thought you knew me, I don't like suspense, I take what I want when I want it. If I wanted your body I'd have it already."

"You're not Hiei, you've got some sort of spell on to make you look like him."

"I'm Hiei." He sighed heavily.

"No! You're not! Hiei would never come for me! No one would! You haven't come to rescue me because I will never be rescued!"

"You're an idiot." Hiei nodded, "I don't know why I'm in love with an idiot but I am."

Riva stiffened, and her eyes widened, "What?"

"You heard me, woman."

She glanced towards him at the name, then started relaxing again. She couldn't understand what was going on. It didn't make sense. She remembered seeing her father's head roll across the ground, then the blinding light of outside, and feeling something grab her ankle. It felt like years ago since she buried herself in the mud to hide from the lurking predators, but it couldn't have been that long. Was she going through time different? Why would he say he loved her? He'd never met her before.

Unless.

Riva looked Hiei over closer, exploring every inch of his face, every shade of his eyes, every strand of hair. Was it really him?

"Close your eyes," she requested.

Hiei grunted but obeyed.

It was him. It had to be him. She could see how much his face changed when he closed his eyes, even if he wasn't asleep. No one else changed like that. He looked practically like ten years had been shaved from his life, the hard ten. This was really him. He'd come for her. Here he was. But how did he know her? How did he love her?

"Can I open my eyes now?"

"Y-yeah." she tried to shift out from under him. Her body was beginning to hurt from the strain she'd put on it in its weakened state.

Hiei opened his eyes and sighed, "So, who am I?"

"You're Hiei." How did she know that? How could she possibly know Hiei Jaganshi?

Hiei rolled off of her onto his back and sighed heavily, "Thank god."

Wait, why was he so calm with her now? Riva felt a sudden emptiness once he was away from her, and realized she was cold again. She tucked herself closer to his side, trying to hide under him. She felt safe with him, safe where he could shade her from the sun and the noise of the trees.

Hiei wrapped an arm around her, "You're cold."

"I feel woozy." She hadn't eaten in too long, and her leg was throbbing with pain.

"I wouldn't be surprised." Hiei nodded.

"How do I know someone like you?" she asked quietly. She couldn't believe that maybe the dream was real. It couldn't be real. She would never know someone as famous as Hiei Jaganshi. There was no way.

"Um, you saved my life."

She scoffed and laughed, "Yeah right."

"You did, don't you remember? I couldn't sleep without being at your side."

"That was a dream." She waved him off.

"No, it wasn't. I almost died."

"No, no, there's no way." She shook her head, sitting up. She needed to do something about her leg. The sword was still wrapped up in the chain.

"Well, it happened." Hiei sat up as well, "Somehow."

"I won't make a liar of you Hiei."

"I'm not lying." Hiei shifted and touched her leg gently, feeding it energy.

Riva stared at where he touched her like he was shocking her rather than healing her injury. She didn't move or speak, fearing it would end.

"So, are you ready to go back to Mukuro's bug now?" Hiei asked as he looked her wound over.

"Oh god, no. I don't want to go there."

"No? Your shop then."

"Mukuro's has too many people I've serviced."

"Hn. Your shop then."

"I don't own a shop." She shook her head.

"Yeah you do, Kurama gave it to you." Hiei scoffed. He looked up at her and sighed, "Can I fix your top?"

She looked down at herself and flushed, cowering into a ball trying to hide herself from him.

"Just fix it, undo the tape."

"If we really do know each other, can't I just have your cloak?"

Hiei removed his cloak and offered it to her. She took it and sighed in relief, wrapping it around herself, even hiding her arms inside.

Hiei stood and grabbed his sword gingerly, unwrapping the chain.

Riva grabbed the metal shackle and tried to melt it away heating her hands as hot as they could go, but she couldn't get it to melt. Hiei moved her hands aside and picked the lock open. It took him all of two seconds to get through it, and her ankle was free. Riva made a tent of Hiei's cloak sitting on the ground and started shucking the leather harness that chaffed and rubbed her skin raw all over the place. It came off with the jump suit, and she pushed herself to her knees trying to stand up, but her legs were too weak to hold her, and the one was complaining too much.

Hiei scooped her up, revealing the suit she'd been wearing on the ground, and nodded, "So, your shop?"

"Sure, if you think I have a shop, I'm willing to humor you and see it."

"You do. You'll remember it." Hiei tightened his hold on her before bolting off.

Riva felt dizzy from the fast motion. Everything zipped by in a blur. She couldn't tell if this was real or not, but if this was another coma fantasy, she'd rather die and stay here than wake up again, and this time she wasn't going to let Hiei Jaganshi go.

They were there in a few hours and Hiei made his way into the shop, going into the back where her kitchen and bedroom were. He set her down on her bed and sat beside her. Riva looked around the little room, bewildered. She took her time looking around, getting close to him on the bed. "This is really my space?"

"Don't you remember?"

"I thought it was a dream."

"It's not."

"It felt like one."

"Yeah, well." Hiei shrugged, "Come on, let me show you." He stood and offered her his hand. When she took it, he started guiding her around the shop.

Riva pulled him to a stop in the hallway leading down to the shop entrance and looked into a little empty room. He could see her mentally piecing things together. "I was going to-" she frowned. "I thought-" she looked between Hiei and the empty room.

"What?"

"Well it's your room." She stepped into the room. It was on the corner of the building and had a nice big window off the side of the building above the shop display window. There were dark black drapes hanging over that window, and the one pointed out towards the back of the yard. She pulled open the back drapes and revealed a big oak tree with branches growing out towards this window.

"It's my room?"

"I was going to save up and make it your room since you kept visiting."

Hiei smiled softly, "I appreciate that."

She sat on the window sill staring at him. "It's really you. You're Hiei Jaganshi and you came, for me."

"Yeah."

"Me."

"Yes."

"Why?"

"You know why."

Riva studied him closer. Could it really be that? Could he still like her? "But you know what I am."

"So?"

"I'm… I'm used up." Riva rubbed her legs softly massaging the heel of her hand into her upper thigh muscles, pushing them down towards her knees like they would unroll.

"No."

"Yeah. I've run my track life." She frowned. "I'm not good anymore."

"You're still good."

"No, my dad said so. He said I was reaching the end of my value to him, that I was going crazy, so he told me to go. Said I could take a vacation if I just-" she frowned. "If I killed someone."

"He's crazy."

"He let me go because I was going to be dead weight." She pushed herself back up to her feet and headed back towards her bedroom.

"What?"

Riva went back to her bedroom and curled up on the bed, "It's why I was in Human World."

"You can't go back to Human World." Hiei sat beside her.

"I know. I remember. It's just, I don't know. I thought it might matter to you, knowing. He sent me away, said I needed a break and I just had to kill someone for him once I got there. Said if I returned to Demon World without killing him, then I'd have hell to pay."

"Hn."

That was it, that was all he gave her. She shut her eyes trying to pretend that this was still a dream, that she would wake up and he'd be there lording over her with a butcher knife ready to end all of the pain she felt. Still, Riva knew that wasn't true. This was reality. Hiei was there with her, and he was listening to her story about why she came to Human World in the first place.

"Well you're here now."

Riva nodded her head in her pillow.

Hiei sighed and gently rubbed her back.

Riva frowned and curled up a little, she wasn't used to people caring about her. Why would he be doing this? Hell, why did she care? No matter what was actually going on, she didn't want to let him go. She wanted him to be there with her and spend his time by her side. Or maybe she should spend her time by his side rather than making him spend anything. Maybe that was the problem here, she was making him do the work.

Hiei sighed softly, quiet.

Riva wondered if she could cure his sigh. Even though it was quiet, she still heard it, it still registered with her, and she still wanted to fix it. Whatever his problem was, she wanted to fix it. He deserved to crush on someone better at it than her.

"Do you remember now?" Hiei asked softly. He scratched her back for her gently.

Riva sighed, "It just seems so long ago."

"It wasn't that long ago."

"It feels like it was."

"Hn."

Riva winced and shied away from him. She didn't understand why he was upset with her.

"It was only, a week or so ago. Not even that."

"That's it?"

"Yeah."

Riva sighed and crawled away from him. "Isn't there some cure or something you can take to get over me? I mean, you don't deserve this Hiei."

"Probably not." Hiei shook his head.

"You haven't looked into it?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want to get over you."

"Why not? I'm not-" she frowned. "I've been a whore most of my life Hiei. I don't know if I'm date-material."

"I've been a killer most of my life, I'm hardly date-material." Hiei rebuked.

She shook her head, "That's different. Being a killer has nothing to do with dating. As a whore, I'm used goods."

"Tch, I don't see you as goods. You're a person."

Riva opened her mouth to find some rebuke, but she couldn't think of one. There was nothing she could say to counter that. She hadn't thought of herself as anything but goods in so long that she didn't know how to explain why she was just goods.

Hiei waited a moment before he crawled after her and pulled her up into his arms, nuzzling against her neck.

Riva lay there in his arms, not sure how to respond for a few moments before she wrapped her arms up around his and sighed.

Hiei sighed too and kissed her cheek before settling back down against her neck.

"I don't want you to go."

"I'm not going anywhere."

"But you will. You'll leave. You've got to go back to work."

"I know." Hiei sighed, "But I can stay here for a while."

"I know that you have a crush on me, but why would you save me? How did you find me?" She looked back over her shoulder searching for his eyes.

"I have a jagan."

"But if the guy who I had a crush on left, I wouldn't imagine they were kidnapped."

"Hn."

"How did you know I was kidnapped?"

"I just looked for you."

"Why?"

"You know why."

"No. You can't just say that and expect me to understand. I wouldn't go looking for someone who I had a crush on. I'd wait for them to show up again."

"Hn, I check on people I care about."

"Why?"

"It's just what I do." Hiei shrugged.

"Oh."

"Yeah." Hiei nodded against her neck.

"But why did you come?"

"Because I like you."

"Is that really enough of a reason?"

"Yes." Hiei nodded quickly, "I want to be with you. I don't entirely understand it myself, but," he shrugged.

Riva wasn't sure what to say to that either, but she liked it. "What if someone comes after me again?"

"I'll kill them." Hiei nodded.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"You would do that for me?"

Hiei nodded.

"But I didn't like you back like that. I didn't see you as anything but a job. Why would you put yourself out for me?"

"I like you." Hiei shrugged.

Riva rolled over to face him, coming nose to nose with him as she did. "Hiei, how could you possibly crush on me?"

"I can't explain it," Hiei brushed some hair out of her face and smiled, "It just sort of happened. You saved my life, which I think is part of it."

"Oh," she frowned, "That wasn't a big deal. I just warmed you up. I help people if I can help them."

"But you saved my life, those cops were just going to let me die, and I felt like I was dying." Hiei shrugged.

"Yeah, but I help anybody who I see needs help."

"It doesn't make it less important to me."

Riva sighed, "Hiei, if you fell in love with anyone who ever helped you, then you'd never be sure about it."

"No. Most people can't help me like that, it's a big deal when someone saves my life because I've been able to keep my own life safe on my own except when I'm vulnerable. Mukuro, yeah, and I've, kind of crushed on her, I suppose, but I know that wouldn't work." He chuckled, "We'd do more damage than healing. Kurama, yeah, but he's a guy. You also, saved someone who is extremely important to me. I can't forget that. I wasn't able to save her, but you did. She's, kind of one of the reasons I'm still around," Hiei shrugged, "If I didn't have to protect her, there's not much I'd have to do, no purpose."

"But Hiei, I do those things because they come naturally to me to do. I help people because I can. It's not something people owe me for, and it's certainly not something I'm expecting love for, or even someone liking me."

Hiei sighed, "Riva. You're gentle, you're caring, but you're also tough. It's not something a lot of demons have in them. I just walk by and let most people deal with whatever fate unless it's a human."

"But I'm not tough. I get beaten up all the time. It's hard for me to avoid getting attacked most of the time."

"You're tough, you get beaten up but you're still here." Hiei offered, "Most people would succumb to it and become weak from the pain. When I saved you earlier, you fell, and you fought me. Despite damn near ripping all the flesh off your leg, despite thinking I was going to rape you and kill you, you didn't give up. Even when I had you pinned down you were still fighting me. You didn't give in. A lot of people would have stopped fighting, but you kept going."

Riva frowned, studying him. She leaned back and looked him over, "You do have a penis, don't you?"

"Of course I do." Hiei laughed.

"Why..." she studied his crotch, "Why didn't you?"

"Why didn't I what? Rape you?"

"Yeah."

"Because I don't enjoy raping people. I enjoy making love with people."

Riva flushed, "You're so atypical Hiei." She snuggled up to his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist willing one under him to pull him closer at her will.

Hiei nuzzled against her, "I suppose."

Riva shut her eyes and relaxed, gently succumbing to the sleep she needed.

They lay there in the quiet for a while and Hiei's mind raced to what he'd seen of the place where she was being kept. It was a night club with rooms above the bar, and poles around the room for dancers. The platforms were just little things for the dancers to stand on as they clung to the pole, and he saw the women who were there chained to it using the straps on their outfits like the one Riva had on. He knew what she was, and it didn't make him happy, so he'd slaughtered the majority of the people there, found Riva, slaughtered the man who was tormenting her at the time, and even in all of that, she had been so mentally scarred by whatever he'd done, she couldn't make sense of him being there.

It seemed hard to believe that this Riva who lay in his arms, silently resting, was the same one who tried to kill him with everything she had just a short while before. This was the same girl who woke up from a coma from being tortured and killed like it had just been another day at work and had been just as dismissive about it.

Riva jumped in his arms, jerking around. She twisted pressing her back against him and her breathing came fast and hard. He could practically feel the startled fear crawling off of her.

"Riva?"

She relaxed a little more, looking over her shoulder at him. She studied him, studied his chest, then lay back down facing outward from his chest, and closed her eyes, sighing.

Hiei sighed too and settled down with her.

"I don't want to let you go," Riva murmured.

"Then don't."

"Ever."

"I'm fine with that."

Riva searched up his arm for his hand and laced their fingers together. "Alright. Then let's date."

"Alright." Hiei squeezed her hand.

"Your nights are mine."

"Of course."

She snuggled backwards again pressing her butt deeper into the pocket of his waist and arching her back to fit his. She wanted to feel everything as she cuddled with her new love boy for the first time. "Thank you Hiei. I promise next time it'll be me saving you again."

"Alright." Hiei nuzzled into her neck and tucked an arm around her waist. She probably had no idea what she just agreed to, but he wasn't letting go any time soon either.


End file.
